She froze when the needle pierced her skin and Dinah followed it with a quick tug of thread. “And?”
“And we were barely surviving. So maybe I should’ve been more upset when Eddie dumped me and took off. But at the Golden Nugget I had regular baths with warm water. I had two meals a day. I could choose from dozens of fancy gowns to wear. Other women fussed over me, braiding my hair, calling me little sister. Telling me I was pretty. Heady stuff for a thirteen-year-old girl who’d endured two years masquerading as a boy. Madam Marie gave me a frank discussion of what physical acts would be expected of me as a whore. For a month, I watched sex through one of the hidden peepholes, in a carnal education of every possible sex permutation. The ladies taught me how to flirt and play coy. How to be bold. How to fake an orgasm.”
Dinah flinched at that phrase, jerking the needle harder than she’d planned. “Sorry. I just…”
“Wasn’t expecting the dirty details? Honey. That’s part of my story. How I learned to do all of the dirty things men love better than the rest of my house sisters is the reason I ended up a madam and not just another two-bit whore. That said, the only choice Marie allowed me was which man got to buy my virginity. I impressed her when I informed her that I should choose three men, not just one, since I had three places on my body that had never taken a man.”
When Dinah went still, Ruby smiled. “No shame in being a virgin, darling, and not knowing those three places are cunt, mouth and ass.”
“Men…I mean, I knew about them using the mouth, not the ah…other one.”
“Ass fucking is a particular favorite of married men because most wives refuse to allow it. That’s why that service costs them more money.”
Dinah must’ve blushed to the roots of her toenails. Somehow she made the next stitch with a steady hand.
“I was a working girl for Madam Marie until five years ago when she gave me her blessing to strike out on my own. Beulah already had a whorehouse—not up to Madam Marie’s standards, but I had no interest in competing with Gigi and her sole proprietorship. I found it unusual a town the size of Sundance didn’t have a bawdy house. Then I realized the Sundance City Council would’ve run any woman out of town before building construction started. Luckily Darby Sackett and his brother had a falling out and Darby wanted to open his own place in Labelle. He bought the existing saloon and agreed to let me add a boardinghouse onto it and create an entrance into my place with a door on the second floor. No one tried to run me out of town. In fact, the community—or at least the men in it—embraced the idea of a whorehouse because construction only took one month, and we were open for business.”
“Do you ever worry about having a falling out with Darby?”
“We’re both making too much money. But it could happen eventually, I suppose.”
“Just three more stitches to go.”
Ruby frowned. “How many have you already done?”
“Nine. They’re small.”
A few quiet moments passed as Dinah pressed a cloth to the wound to quell the bleeding before she finished stitching.
“I take it you’ve forgiven Silas for his poker game bet?”
She studied Ruby’s placid face. “That happened in Sundance. Just last night. How did you hear about it?”
“People talk.”
“Who talks?” she demanded. “And where? If you mean that Silas has been in your—”
“No, no, darling, it wasn’t Silas telling bordello tales. I actually overheard Jonas talking about it. It was clever for you to send Silas right back into the thick of possible rumors.”
An immediate burst of anger swamped her that Silas’s brother was gossiping about the incident. Then she realized that Ruby had called Deputy McKay by his first name, as if they were on familiar terms. So after Silas had confessed to his brother…maybe Jonas hadn’t been gossiping to anyone but Ruby. “To answer your question, yes, I’ve forgiven Silas. It might’ve been different had the wager come from Silas first, but Zeke West created the situation. And I demanded Silas end their feud as a condition of forgiveness.” She pinched the skin together and quickly made the final stitch. After tying off the thread and wiping away fluid, she bent closer to peer at her handiwork. Evenly spaced stitches, not too tight. “Done.”
“Thank the heavens.”
“You can sit up. But keep the ice on it for ten minutes at a time or until it melts. It’ll help with the swelling.” Then Dinah busied herself tidying up. She’d return in the morning and scrub the surfaces and douse them with boiling water, but she was too tired to deal with it tonight. When she turned around, Ruby was studying her.
“You’re free to go. Keep the wound clean and Doc will want to remove the stitches in ten days.”
“Thank you. Truly.”
“You’re welcome.”
“If there’s anything I can do for you…”
There is. I have questions. Specific questions.
No. She couldn’t.
Yes. Just ask her. She offered. And when will you ever get another chance to get firsthand carnal knowledge from an expert willing to share?
Still…Dinah, hesitated, keeping her focus on the same spot she’d been scrubbing for a very long minute.
Then Ruby’s throaty laugh echoed through the small space. “Go ahead and ask me, Dinah.”
“Ask you what?”
“You know. ‘The’ question. Don’t be shy.”
Dinah folded her arms over her chest and met Ruby’s curious gaze. “All right. I’m a virgin. Silas and I have kissed and touched and…stuff. Doc has some detailed human anatomy books as well as a few explicit novels I’ve read. I have a grasp of the mechanics of what goes on between a man and a woman, but how do I keep Silas happy enough in our bed beyond the first year or so that we’re married that he won’t want to visit a whorehouse?”
Ruby laughed. “That’s a much better question than the one I usually get.”
“Which is what?”
“If my husband shows up at your whorehouse will you please refuse to take his money?” She made a face. “It’s not my job to monitor someone’s husband. And some men desperately love their wives, but they also want sexual acts their wives won’t do.” She shrugged. “I don’t judge. I definitely don’t turn away customers. I run a business. Selling pleasure is no different than selling anything else. So my first question for you is…do you like how you feel when you and Silas have kissed and touched?”
“Yes. Very much.”
“You’re what…nineteen? Twenty?”
“Twenty.”
“Since you’re on your own here, I’m guessing it’s not the worry of parental disapproval holding you back from dispensing with your maidenhead. Maybe you’re religious, I don’t know. What I do know is it’s solely your decision whether you decide to fuck Silas before marriage or after your vows. But once you’re in that intimate partnership with him, talk to him. If he does something you don’t like, don’t immediately freeze up and say no. Suggest trying something different that you do like. Becoming sexually compatible is work, but sex is not a chore. It is a lovely intimacy like no other. It’s supposed to be fun and raunchy and passionate and sweet…but it doesn’t have to be all of that at the same time.”
Dinah expelled a nervous burst of laughter. “Thank you. Since Silas and I started this…lovely intimacy…I don’t have anyone to talk about this.”
Ruby gave her a soft smile. “I’m glad you asked for advice. Nothing that happens in private between a man and a woman is dirty if they both want to do it.”
“So noted.”
“The last thing I’ll tell you is to know your own body. Because if you aren’t familiar with what gives you pleasure, how can you tell Silas what you need?”
She nodded because that did make perfect sense.
“It’s late. I appreciate you stitching me up with such care.”
“You’re welcome. And don’t worry that I’ll blab far and wide about this incident. I’m the epitome of discree
t.”
“Says the woman who had a screaming match with Silas McKay on Main Street in Sundance, on a Friday night,” Ruby said dryly.
Dinah rolled her eyes. “A different situation that called for zero discretion on my part since the man had already turned me into a public spectacle.”
“Don’t let him smother that fire inside you, Dinah.”
“He won’t. I think he appreciates that his charm doesn’t always work on me.” She paused in the doorway. “I’ll send Jimmy out to escort you. Take care, Miss Ruby.”
Chapter Fifteen
Late Sunday morning Jonas stormed into Sackett’s Saloon.
The place wouldn’t get busy until later, so no one stopped him from hoofing it up the stairs to the second floor. No one manned the door between the saloon and the whorehouse, so he just waltzed right into Ruby Red’s social parlor.
Mrs. Mavis glanced up from the book she was reading as she lounged on a red and gold chaise. “Is there a reason you’re bustin’ in here when we ain’t open for business yet, Deputy?”
“I need to speak with Miss Ruby immediately.”
She opened her mouth to protest and he cut her off.
“I know she’s here. I just saw her in Robinette’s.” And she fucking ran from me.
“She left word she wasn’t to be disturbed.”
“Tough.” He pointed at the bell pull that was a direct line to Ruby’s rooms. “You can ring her. I’m headin’ down.” Without waiting for a response, he hustled through the hallway that housed the working rooms, stopping to open the door that led to the stairs. A narrow ladder rose up to the wide attic trapdoor to the third-floor loft where the girls lived. A cramped staircase opened into a small kitchen behind the boarding house’s street side entrance. Jonas cut to the left and saw the door to Ruby’s private rooms was still closed.
He knocked politely. But he warned, “Don’t think to leave me hangin’ out here, or I will beat this damn door down.”
The lock clicked on the other side, but she didn’t open the door.
So Jonas did.
Once he was inside, he turned the key behind him. Then he noticed Ruby had her back to him.
She’d clenched her hands into fists at her sides. “I do not appreciate your high-handed behavior, Deputy.”
“That’s what you think this is?” He moved in behind her and curled his hands over her small fists, hating that she flinched when he touched her.
“That’s what it was in Robinette’s.”
Jonas hated that the only time Robinette allowed Ruby to shop was on Sundays when “decent folk” were at church. That was the first place he’d gone after getting off the train this morning. His heart had skipped a beat upon seeing her through the windows. He’d ambled in, nodded at Robinette as he started his own shopping. Putting a loaf of bread, a wheel of cheese, a pint of cider, and a cake of soap on the counter. Then he’d wandered down the aisle where Ruby had been browsing.
She’d worn a drab brown coat and a matronly bonnet that covered her glorious hair and kept her face in shadow. She’d placed a bottle of ointment and a tin of tooth powder in her basket, as well as a thick stack of white fabric and a spool of thread.
“Mornin’, Miss Ruby,” he said after sidling up to her.
“Good morning, Deputy.” She didn’t offer anything else, just kept running her fingers over the bolts of colorful fabric.
He put his hand over hers and murmured, “I missed you.”
Ruby eased her hand away from his. “It’s been less than a day.”
“Did you miss me?”
“I missed specific parts of you.” She ducked her head to hide her smirk.
Sassy little woman. “Can I guess what parts?” he whispered closer to her ear.
“Tend to your own shopping, Mr. McKay.”
“I am. I wanted to ask if you’ve hidden licorice whips in the bottom of your basket?” If she hadn’t treated herself to her favorite candy, he’d add some to his order.
“Why? Have you been bad and need a whipping?”
“Suggesting that will get your ass paddled for sure, Ruby girl.”
The bell on the door rang and she’d automatically turned to see who’d entered.
That’s when Jonas saw the black stitches and swollen skin marring her cheek. Without thinking, he took her chin in his hand. “What the hell happened to you?”
Ruby jerked away from him. “Nothing.”
“Goddammit, Ruby—”
“Stop,” she hissed. “You’re causing a scene.”
“Oh, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. What happened?”
She whirled around and strode up to the counter, setting down her basket. “Mr. Robinette, put this on my account and please have Jimmy deliver these to the boardinghouse later today.”
Then she all but ran out of the store.
He’d forced himself not to run after her.
So here they were.
Jonas pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m sorry. Will you please tell me what happened?”
Ruby sighed. “A customer didn’t like what I told him. He lashed out with his fists. I’m fine.”
No, sweetheart, you ain’t even close to fine. “Will you turn around and look at me?”
“It was a long night and I’m still tired. It’d be best if you just left.”
“Darlin’—”
“I’m not in the mood for private entertainment, Jonas.”
Stung, he let his hands fall away. “I didn’t come here to fuck you.”
“Then there’s no reason for you to be here at all, is there?” she said coolly.
A laugh rumbled out. “Gonna hafta do better than that to chase me off.” He gently turned her around.
She didn’t fight him. Nor did she fuss at him when he tipped her chin up to get a better look at the gash on her cheek, but she did close her eyes.
Jonas hissed in a breath. “Still hurts?”
“It throbs and I swear I can feel the skin growing back together.”
“Who stitched you up?”
Her eyes opened. “Why do you ask?”
“Because they did a damn good job.” He let his thumb sweep across her cheek below the stitches. “Bet in a year or two you won’t have much of a scar.”
“Your soon-to-be sister Dinah sewed me up. She shooed Doc out and claimed as a seamstress she’d do a better job.” Ruby’s eyes searched his. “You’ve seen men patched up before. How does this compare?”
“It doesn’t. Like I said, it looks great. It’s hardly swollen either.”
“I kept ice on it last night.”
“Did your customer get shots in anywhere else?”
“Not besides at my establishment. He was unhappy with Millie’s service and when I refused to refund his money, he backhanded me. Darby and Dickie escorted him out. He’s not a local so I doubt I’ll see him again.”
“Good.” Jonas’s gaze roamed over every inch of her face. “Now that that’s out of the way…can I kiss you hello?”
Ruby moved into him and said, “I need this first.” She pressed her unmarked cheek against his chest and wrapped her arms around him.
He rested his chin on the top of her head and breathed her in as he gathered her close.
They stayed like that for a long time.
When she tilted her head back, he covered her mouth with his. Giving her tenderness. Sweetness. And she lapped up every bit of his gentle care, clinging to him, not immediately trying to turn up the heat between them like she usually did.
Before Jonas lost his head completely and they ended up in her bed, he slowed the kiss to soft smooches and a fleeting glide of his lips across hers. He whispered, “I missed this.”
She murmured, “So we’ve both said.”
That was the closest she’d ever gotten to admitting that she’d missed him too.
“Spend the day with me.”
Ruby leaned back and squinted at him. “Why do I get the feeling you don’t mean here in m
y rooms?”
“Because you’re smart.” He kissed her nose. “Let’s go for a ride together.”
“Jonas—”
He silenced her with a kiss. “No one will see us, if that’s what worries you. I’ve got a spot in mind on Silas’s land where nobody can find us.”
“What would we do?”
“You could bring a blanket and we could have us a picnic. I’ll even bring the food.”
Again, those amazingly blue eyes of hers studied him. “This is important to you.”
“Yes, darlin’, it is.”
“Why?”
“It’s a beautiful day and I wanna share it with you. Just us.”
“Okay.”
He grinned at her quick agreement. “Great. I’ll meet you on the backside of Doc’s place between the woods and the creek in one hour.”
“All I’m supposed to bring is a blanket?”
“And your naughty, lovely self.” He kissed her nose. “You won’t regret this. I promise.”
Jonas was half afraid Ruby wouldn’t show up.
But she came into view on a horse he recognized from Blackbird’s Livery. For the first time it occurred to him that she probably wouldn’t have the need for her own horse. She rarely left the boardinghouse—not that there was much going on in Labelle anyway—and she wasn’t welcomed in Sundance. That increased his determination to make today extra special for her.
As soon as her horse was next to his, she said, “Deputy, can we not race these animals wherever you’re planning to take me? I’m not a very experienced horsewoman. Micah said this was his easiest mount.”
“We’ll take it slow and enjoy the scenery, all right?”
She nodded.
They meandered along and he was grateful for this rare glimpse of her and her sense of wonder.
It amused him when she slowed to ooh and aah over wildflowers. She laughed when a fish jumped in a placid section of the stream. “It’s like they’re taunting us for not having fishing poles.”
“Do you fish?” he asked.
“My brother did when we lived at the Deadwood camp. He didn’t have much success because there were a lot of miners trying to catch their food. He did better with hunting and trapping. How about you? Do you fish?”
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