But as they reached the precipice, Clancy released her mouth, and Billie took in a long breath. Everywhere in Clancy felt like it was tensing, tightening like a noose around his senses as Billie overwhelmed him in every way.
Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one looking overwhelmed, and he cupped the side of Billie’s face as her expression tightened. Her beautiful brown eyes sparkled like they were full of stars, her chest rising and falling with heavy inhales and exhales.
All he could do was focus and keep them both pushing forward. Each time he filled her up, Billie’s body clenched tight, so close to the edge he didn’t know how she’d lasted so long.
Until finally, with one last thrust that brought them closer together than ever before, Billie came beneath Clancy, and he felt her body tighten, then release as she buried her face in his shoulder and screamed.
Her release pulled his out a moment later like a steer knocking over a steel gate, rocking through his core with electric heat while his cock jerked inside her. All the muscles in his arms and hips bulged, and he grunted hard, unable to contain himself as she made him come, hard.
That only seemed to push Billie’s orgasm even higher as they shook and quivered together, caught up in something unifying and wonderful and indescribable. Clancy wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, wanting to shield her from the world and all its evils even as her release went longer than his did.
It took several minutes for Billie to relax fully. And by the time she let out a happy sigh, Clancy only felt warmth and care so strong for this woman that he didn’t even know he’d had the capacity for it until now.
Life had made him hard. Everything about Billie was soft and perfect and warm.
Maybe a life with her could mean he didn’t have to be what he was.
But that was wishful thinking.
“How was it? Did I meet your expectations?” Clancy said with a smirk, loving the blush on her cheeks and how it accentuated the tiny little freckles dotting her nose.
“I—I don’t know what I expected. But it wasn’t that.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” And he leaned down to kiss her one more time, unsure if there would be another time like this. Unsure what would happen when the sun rose beyond the mountains in the distance tomorrow morning.
He just knew that Billie was precious.
“I don’t know if there are enough compliments in the English language to describe what just happened,” she said, still catching her breath.
Clancy’s smile widened, and he slowly pulled out of her and went to the bathroom to clean up before returning to his bed and wrapping his arms around her cute, curvy little body.
And though she fell fast asleep against him, Clancy stayed awake for several more hours, thinking of his past. Of his history that stretched back longer than he’d even been a gunslinger.
Of what he was deep inside him.
How could a woman as perfect as her ever accept something as monstrous as him?
12
When Billie awoke the next morning, memories of her steamy night with Clancy replayed in her head. They were all so perfect that, for a second, she thought she might have dreamt them all up.
But then his strong arms curled around her, and she realized that nope, she hadn’t. They really had spent the most passionate night of her life together.
He kissed her head lightly, then muttered something about breakfast and got out of bed.
Billie watched him go. She never would get tired of staring at his gorgeous, muscular body. Or that golden hair now mussed from sex and sleep.
She sighed when he’d left the room, already missing him, but was interrupted when her phone rang from the nightstand.
Billie frowned, recognizing the caller ID. Perplexed, she picked it up.
“Pa? What’s going on?”
Her eyes went wide as she listened to him explain, and when he was done, she put the phone down, frowning.
“Darlin’, what’s wrong?” Clancy had walked back into the room, fully dressed and holding a small tray of breakfast food. “You look worried.”
Billie held up her phone. “That was my pa.”
“What did he say? Is everything all right?” He looked concerned.
“Sort of. Apparently, he found an anonymous, threatening note this morning when he was opening the store,” she explained. “He was asking if I could stop by to take a look at it.”
Clancy pursed his lips. “Well, we can do one better than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“How about we spend the day at the store, with your dad?” he asked. “Keep an eye on things.”
“Really?” Excitement coursed through her. “You really mean it?”
He grinned wickedly. “Of course. While I’d like to keep you in bed all day, I’m curious about the man that raised you to have such an obsession with Tucker Thompson. And now I get to meet him. Eat, get dressed, and we’ll head into town.”
Billie blushed as she chewed her toast. Feeling better but still worried about her father.
When she was done eating and fully dressed, they headed to Dragonclaw and then into town.
As they were driving, she wondered who the threatening note could be from. Was it about the dragon’s talon? She seemed to be attracting a lot of trouble ever since she’d bought it at the auction.
Truth be told, she’d hardly even thought about the coin once since she’d arrived at Dragonclaw.
She’d been too caught up in thoughts of Clancy.
Now that the coin was possibly the reason her father was being threatened, she wondered if she ever should have bought it in the first place.
But if she hadn’t, would she ever have met this man?
When they got to the store and went inside, her father was behind the counter. He wasn’t much taller than she was and he’d gone bald some years ago, but the crinkles at the sides of his eyes always told Billie that they’d lived a good life together as a family.
“Pa, we’re here.”
He looked up when they entered and grinned at them. “Billie,” he said fondly, coming over to give her a hug. His eyes trailed over to Clancy, who was eying the store curiously. “And this must be the descendant of the legendary Quickdraw Dragon. You’re a mystery, son. No one seems to know you exist.”
“Just call me Clancy,” he replied with an easy smile. “And it’s a well-kept secret, for obvious reasons. The only reason I told your daughter is because I’ve never seen someone so passionate about my ancestor, Mister Palmer.” Clancy winked at her.
“Indeed she is,” Billie’s pa said proudly. “Thompson’s important to our family. And while we’re at it, call me Phil. No need for formalities here. If my daughter likes you, then I already like you.” Phil held a finger to his mouth. “And mum’s the word.”
“Thank you.” Clancy looked around again. “Quite the collection you have here. You must be very proud.”
Pa’s eyes gleamed with appreciation. He had always been incredibly passionate about history, a trait he had passed on to Billie.
“Thank you,” Phil said happily. “Some of it’s from family. Some of it’s collected in my lifetime. Here, come and take a look.” He waved them over to a display case that contained his favorite relic: an old silver six-shooter with an ivory handle.
Billie smiled. She’d heard about this one a million times.
“Apparently, this belonged to Butch Cassidy, if you could believe it,” Phil explained. “Was his pride and joy up until the day he died.”
Clancy leaned over and stared at the handgun. “Fascinating,” he muttered. “Butch always did have expensive taste in guns.”
“Just so.”
Billie smiled as she watched Phil show Clancy around the store. She could already tell that her dad was warming up to him, as she hoped he would. But how could anyone not? What exactly was there to not like about Clancy? He was warm, strong, friendly, and gentle.
Sometimes her father would get
overly animated when he told stories, but Clancy didn’t seem put off by it. He just listened patiently, and he even seemed to be enjoying her father’s excitement.
Phil kept going until the tinkle of the bell at the door drew his attention.
“Ah, customers,” he said, clapping his hands. “Billie, the note’s behind the register if you’d like to take a look, although I’m sure everything’s going to be fine.” He frowned. “At least I think so, but I thought I’d have you take a look at the handwriting to see if you recognize it.”
“No problem, Pa,” Billie said. “I’ll take a look at it in a second. First, I’ll introduce Clancy to a certain someone.”
Phil understood immediately, and he nodded. “Very well. If you need me, I’ll be in the store.”
Billie walked over to Clancy, who was staring into another display case, and took his hand. “You ready to meet the other member of our family?”
Clancy cocked an eyebrow. “I thought it was just you and your pa.”
“Nah, there’s one more.” With that, she guided him out the back door of the store and into the back of their property where their old pinto horse was standing.
“Clancy, meet Elmer.”
“Your family horse,” Clancy said, nodding as they walked over to meet Elmer, who looked up from his grazing curiously.
“Yup,” Billie said. “They were calling him Elmer, saying he was only good for the glue factory. Came from a nearby ranch. He’s a pasture pal, not rideable. They don’t really send horses to glue factories that much anymore. They mostly send them over the border to slaughterhouses. But not this guy. My pa didn’t have the heart to let that happen, so Elmer just lives in the field at the back of our property.”
She stepped up and rubbed a hand up and down the horse’s face and smiled as he nuzzled into her shoulder. Then, to her surprise, Elmer turned and made his way over to Clancy, nickering quietly.
“Well, look at that,” Billie said as Elmer nuzzled against Clancy’s hand. “He likes you. That’s rare.”
Clancy grinned and shot her a wink. “Well, horses are how I make my livin’.” He ran a hand down Elmer’s back and scratched him softly. “This guy seems pretty well-behaved. Friendly. Yup, I can confirm that Elmer is one special horse.”
Billie just watched in amazement. She had never seen Elmer this relaxed and happy before. He was getting up there in years. Usually, he was grumpy and disinterested toward anyone except Phil and Billie.
It took a lot to make him happy, but it warmed her heart to see him so relaxed with Clancy.
“They’re herd animals, you know.” Clancy continued, smiling warmly as he continued to pet Elmer. “You have to be their alpha. But once they recognize your strength, you can be real gentle with them.”
He leaned in and whispered something Billie couldn’t hear in Elmer’s ear, and in response, the horse nickered and nuzzled Clancy again.
“How did you come to know so much about horses?”
Clancy shrugged. “I grew up with horses. They can be wild, but when you gain their trust and work with them, magnificent things can happen. The West would never have been tamed without them.”
Seeing him speak so highly of horses, it was no surprise to Billie that Elmer had instantly liked him. Clancy was a southern gentleman, but his kindness wasn’t a façade he used to get what he wanted like other men did.
No, watching him with Elmer, she could honestly see his kindness leaking out, and it only made her fall a little more for him.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Billie turned to find Phil watching Elmer and Clancy, his eyes lit up in amusement. “You sure that’s the first time you met Elmer? He’s never taken to someone that immediately before.”
Clancy laughed. “Very sure. He’s a good horse. It was kind of you to save him from a fate he didn’t deserve.”
“Look at him,” Phil said, cocking his head fondly. “You really think I could be heartless enough to ever allow such a thing?”
“Obviously not,” Clancy said.
“Well, heck,” her pa said, rubbing the back of his head. “Now that Elmer likes you, I guess you’ll have to stay for dinner.”
“Pa!” Billie said, aghast. “He was going to stay for dinner anyway.”
“Yes, and now we’ll be able to pry more information about Thompson out of him,” her dad said, grinning. “Come on in when you’re ready.”
With that, he disappeared back inside, and Billie sighed while Clancy just cocked an eyebrow.
“I thought you said you were the most interested in Thompson of your family,” he said, amused. “Now I see where you got it.”
Billie laughed. “Well, now you know, but you can’t really blame him. Thompson’s a hero to everyone in our family. And we even have a secret family legend about him that no one else does. You can imagine why he’s so curious about you.”
“I know, I know,” Clancy said, walking over to face her. “And when I win that coin in our bet, you’re going to tell me the secret you have on my ancestor.”
“We’ll see,” she said. “You keep doing what you’re doing, and you just might get the coin.”
He smirked. “Like this?”
With that, he kissed her. When they broke apart, Billie sighed and patted his chest.
“Yes, exactly like that.”
13
That evening at dinner, Clancy regaled Billie and Phil with tales about Tucker Thompson. He was surprised to find that they knew many of the stories, and the longer he went on, the more difficult it was to talk about himself in the third person.
He’d also never had such avid listeners before. They hung on every word about the Quickdraw Dragon.
“And that was how Thompson disarmed the whole Burrow Gang without killing a single one of them,” Clancy said. Then he shrugged. “Or so goes the family legend.”
“Wow,” Phil said, sitting back in his seat. “Ain’t that something?”
Billie shook her head. “I always knew the Quickdraw Dragon was amazing, but this is beyond almost anything I’ve heard before.”
“It really is funny how the past influences the present,” Phil added.
Clancy cocked his head to the side, wondering what his mate’s dad meant. “How do you figure?”
“Well,” Phil explained, nodding at his daughter. “Billie’s real name is—”
“Pa, don’t,” Billie said with a groan, looking away.
“Is Belladonna.” He continued. “It means—”
“Beautiful lady.” Clancy finished his sentence, winking at Billie. “An apt name.”
She turned bright red at that, and Phil chuckled heartily.
“I agree. She takes after her mother that way,” he said fondly. “B’s always loved old western stories, but when she was really young, she learned about Billy the Kid from one of our books.”
“No,” Clancy said, grinning at Billie.
Phil nodded. “Yup, she took the nickname, and it stuck.”
“I hate when you tell that story,” Billie grumbled. “I don’t even like Billy the Kid anymore. All I care about is the Quickdraw Dragon.”
Clancy smirked, his chest puffing up in pride. He loved learning new things about his mate. He wanted to know everything about her, especially all of her embarrassing moments and stories.
How funny that she came into this inadvertently bargaining to hear everything about him, and now he wanted to know everything there was to know about her.
When they were finished eating and dinner was over, she showed him up the stairs to her room. It was decorated exactly how he thought it would be, with old western memorabilia covering just about every inch of the walls, bed, and cabinets.
On top of the worn wooden dresser next to her window was a cardboard box containing what looked like an old set of plastic six-shooter cap guns.
“This is my room,” she said. “It’s not much, but it houses everything I collected over the years.”
Clancy walked over and picked one of th
e cap guns from the box and held it up to her, cocking a teasing eyebrow. “Would this have been your weapon of choice if I hadn’t come to help you that one day?”
“It certainly would not have been, and I’ve had those since I was six!” she exclaimed, scowling as she grabbed it from him and stuffed it back into the box. “I used to play with them, pretending I was some legendary gunfighter.”
Clancy imagined six-year-old Billie in full cowboy gear, waving the small cap gun around, a plastic sheriff badge pinned to her shirt as her curly red hair flew in all directions.
He smiled at the image.
“Gotta be careful,” he said solemnly. “Those things are dangerous.”
She snorted. “Yeah, and Elmer won the Kentucky Derby last year.”
“Crazier things have happened.”
“True.”
Clancy looked around the room until a small, faded newspaper clipping on the far wall caught his eye. He walked and over stared at it, reading the headline: “Gunslinger legend disappears, presumed dead.”
“No one really knows what happened to him in the end,” Billie said. “Do you know?”
Clancy considered the question, wondering what he should say. The article was dated for a few weeks after he dealt with the Bloodwolf Gang and saved the Millers.
After chucking the talon into the pond, he’d left for Harrison’s ranch and, from then on, went by his middle name: Clancy, a retired gunslinger-turned-horse-wrangler.
The Quickdraw Dragon was never seen again, and the newspapers all speculated as to what had happened to him. Died on the road? Lost a gunfight? No one knew, and Clancy sure as hell wasn’t going to tell anybody.
He just shrugged. “Don’t know. Like the article says, he disappeared.”
Billie eyed him shrewdly for a second, then seemed to accept the response. She walked over and knelt next to her bed, pulling out a small, ornate chest.
“What’s in there?” he asked.
But she didn’t respond. Instead, she just pulled out something that he couldn’t quite make out and walked back over to him.
“This is my first piece of Tucker Thompson memorabilia,” she said, cradling whatever it was like it was sacred. “I found it at a flea market when I was just a teenager.”
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