"Lacey? Are you awake?"
That voice!
"Sam? Is that you? How dare you break into my room! You scared ten years off my life."
Sam stepped out of the shadow. Lacey sat up and pulled the covers up to her neck. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be miles away by now."
Sam approached the bed. "We need to talk. I couldn't leave without explaining what had happened."
"Taylor explained everything quite satisfactorily," Lacey said. "Please leave."
Sam grasped her shoulders, his hard fingers digging into her tender flesh. She tried to free herself, and in the struggle the sheet fell away. One shoulder of her nightdress had slid down her arm, revealing the pert tip of a creamy breast. When Lacey noted the direction of Sam's intense gaze, she glanced down at her exposed flesh and blanched.
"Oh, God, Lacey..."
His gaze singed her. She didn't stop him when he pulled down the other shoulder, baring both taut breasts. Nor did she protest when he dropped to his knees on the bed and stripped the sheet and blanket from her nerveless fingers. All she could do was stare at his lips, and into his eyes, dark now with desire. A gnawing hunger for this man spiraled through her. It didn't matter what had brought him here, or why, she wanted him.
He bent to kiss her, cradling her head in his hands as he slanted his mouth over hers. His lips moved urgently, tasting, nudging her lips apart, burying his tongue into the waiting warmth of her mouth. Abruptly his kisses became wildly demanding, ruthlessly possessive, until she was clinging to him, desperately seeking to escalate the pace.
"Wait." Sam grasped her hands, removing them from the buttons of his shirt. Uncoiling himself from her arms, he helped her to remove her nightdress. Then he tore off his own clothing. Before he returned to the bed, he struck a match to the wick of the bedside lamp, closed the bedroom door, and turned the key in the lock.
"Why did you do that?"
I want to see you...all of you. And I don't want Andy bursting in on us."
Air spilled from her lungs as she looked her fill at him. He was fully erect, his sex thrusting upward from a nest of dark hair. She wanted him inside her, was almost desperate to feel his strength piercing her, and was disappointed when Sam didn't oblige immediately. She gave a startled yelp when he lowered himself beside her and kissed a trail of fire between her breasts and over her stomach. She went still. Was he headed where she thought he was? His mouth moved lower. She cried out his name. He had never attempted so bold a caress either before or after their hasty marriage.
Sam glanced up at her. She met his smoldering gaze and found the breath to ask, "What are you going to do?"
"Very soon I'm going to taste you. Am I the first to make love to you like that?"
"You mean...?" She shuddered at the thought of his mouth there. "You're the only man to make love to me in any manner."
If Sam heard her he gave no indication as he cupped both her breasts and slid his thumbs over the puckered tips. Then he lowered his head and suckled her. Lacey's wits fled as he licked, sucked and nipped each hardened nipple in turn.
When he'd tasted his fill, he slid down her body and pressed her legs apart with his knees. She could feel her face flaming as he spread the petals of her sex apart and stared at her. The intimacy of the act was appalling, frightening...wildly erotic. When he tucked his head between her legs and touched her with his tongue, a jolt of pure ecstasy shot through her.
Lacey gasped at the first wanton stroke of his tongue. The overwhelming sensation stunned her. His mouth was disappointingly elusive as he came close to yet never quite touched her aching center. She lurched against him, a wordless plea for him to end this torture.
Finally...finally, he sought that place where she wept for him. He lashed it with his tongue; a blatantly erotic sensation against her swollen core. Then he breached her with a determined thrust of his tongue, and throbbing pleasure carried her to the stars.
She was still moaning when he braced himself above her, his muscles taut as he filled his hands with the smooth rounds of her buttocks. He came inside her, hot, hard, thick, their flesh melding together as one.
"Lacey, Lacey, Lacey..." He whispered her name over and over, his trusts frenzied, torrid.
There was no holding back for either of them. They kissed ravenously, endlessly. Lacey tasted the hunger in him and responded by writhing in tempo to his lunging hips. Heat uncoiled deep inside her, spreading throughout her body.
She looked up and saw Sam watching her, his eyes dark and heavy-lidded with some unguarded emotion. Then all thought ceased. She was drowning in sensation, her insides clenching around Sam's engorged sex. The urgency was building again, that overwhelming need for release, and she caught his head between her hands, urging his mouth down to hers. He made love to her with his mouth as his body moved below. She bucked beneath him, sending him deeper. Pleasure spread through her, stripped to its rawest form, pulsing so fiercely she couldn't keep it bottled up inside. She screamed.
Sam covered her mouth, swallowing her screams, thrusting until her violent thrashing was replaced by gentle tremors. In the dim recesses of her mind, Lacey heard Sam's shout of completion as his own climax overtook him.
Lacey's wits returned, and with it unanswered questions. "Why did you returned? I never thought to see you again after you signed the divorce papers."
"I wanted to explain why I agreed to the divorce. There are things about me you don't know."
Lacey slid away from him and pulled the sheet up to her neck. "I know all I need to know."
"No, you don't. But before I explain, I want you to tell me again why you betrayed me to the Yankees."
Lacey heaved an exasperated sigh. "How many times must I repeat that I had nothing to do with my father's decision to surrender you to the Yankees? If you recall, I wasn't even there when they came for you. Papa had sent me on an errand to keep me from interfering, but he didn't do it out of malice."
Sam snorted. "So you say."
"It's true. We learned that my brother was being held in a Southern prison. Father went to the authorities to try to get him released and was told that the Rebels would only release a prisoner if an exchange was offered. Father told them about you, and they promised to work out a deal for an exchange."
Lacey sighed, recalling the sad day they learned her brother had died of his wounds at Andersonville. Sam had already been taken away; her father's machinations had gained them nothing.
"I tried to trace you but no one seemed to know what had happened to you. I even wrote to the President. I was told you had died on the prison ship. Crowded conditions and disease on the ship added to the confusion. After a year of brick walls, I accepted that you were dead."
"You didn't take a year to turn to another man," Sam charged irrationally. "Andy is proof of that."
Lacey said nothing. What could she say to a man determined to think the worst about her? He would never believe that Andy was his son. Too much between them remained unresolved.
Sam mulled over Lacey's words. Perhaps he had judged her too harshly. Perhaps he should have returned to Lacey after the war and gotten the truth from her. But it was too late for regrets. After the war he had tried to forget Lacey, refusing to mention her name or tell his brothers about her. He truly thought he had banished her from his mind for good, but seeing her again had brought a resurgence of those long forgotten memories...and feelings he thought had died years ago.
"Do you believe me, Sam?" Lacey asked.
Sam searched her face. "I'm...not sure."
"What has this to do with what you were going to tell me? What don't I know about you?"
Sam fought a battle within himself. If he believed Lacey, that meant he should trust her. Could he trust her with the knowledge that he was a wanted man? Telling her would be a dangerous way to prove whether or not she could be trusted. But revealing his secret to Lacey was the only way he could explain his reason for agreeing to the divorce.
"I didn't s
how up in Texas by chance," Sam began slowly.
"I never thought you did."
"Something happened in Kansas that forced my brothers and me to flee. Our farm was on the brink of foreclosure. We applied to the bank for a loan and were promptly turned down. Then the banker offered us a deal. If one of us married his pregnant daughter, he'd allow the loan. Needless to say, neither Rafe, Jess, or myself were willing to accept those terms. We left the bank in a huff.
"The banker became enraged and set off an alarm, claiming we had robbed the bank. We panicked and ran, though I realize now we should have remained and fought the charges. We hightailed it back to the farm, took what we could carry in our saddlebags and rode away with a posse breathing down our necks. We split up outside of town. Rafe rode west, Jess headed north, and I rode south."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"So you understand why remaining in jail presented a danger to me. There are wanted posters out for my arrest. I didn't want to be under the sheriff's nose when and if they arrived in Denison. However, if I refused to sign the divorce, Cramer wouldn't have dropped the charges against me. Sooner or later the law would learn I was a wanted man. Spending the rest of my life behind bars doesn't appeal to me."
"So you signed the document and took off," Lacey said. "I can't say I blame you. Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because of Andy. I don't want him to think the worst of me. He may not be mine, but I've grown fond of him. And I wanted you to know I didn't try to kill Cramer. I don't operate that way."
"You've told me, now you can go."
Sam gnashed his teeth. "Has nothing I've said gotten through to you?"
"Not much. You abandoned me and let me believe you were dead. You didn't care what happened to me during the years we were apart, so why should your confession affect me? It's far too late for us, Sam. I'm losing the ranch. What can you do for me but give me more grief? You rejected me, now it's my turn to reject you."
"Money hungry little bitch," Sam bit out.
Lacey stiffened. "I'm merely doing what's best for myself and my son."
Sam knew what he'd done to Lacey was wrong, but at the time he couldn't think beyond her betrayal, and he'd truly never wanted to see her again. It had taken this honesty between them to show him her side of the story. He still didn't trust her completely, but he now believed he might have jumped to conclusions.
Sam stared down at her, suddenly aware that he was growing hard again. He caressed her breast, smiling when her nipple hardened beneath his fingertips. "Your body still wants me."
"I can't help what my body wants, I only know what my mind tells me is right for me."
He willed his erection away. "What is your mind telling you now?"
"That it's over." She shrugged. "Perhaps there never was anything lasting between us. I need more than you can offer, Sam. I have a son whom I love very much and a ranch to save. I have no energy left to deal with you."
"What about Cramer? You can't love that bastard."
"Taylor is aware of my feelings. I've had one grand passion, I'm not looking for another. Taylor and I will deal well with one another on an unemotional leval."
Sam reared up from bed and began pulling on his clothes. "Did you ever consider that Cramer wants your land more than he wants you?"
Her chin rose. "Of course I have. How could I not? But for the life of me I can't see why he should want the B&G. There is nothing particularly valuable about it. Besides," she argued, "Taylor might not love me but he is fond of me. And he respects me."
"Then I'll be leaving you in good hands," Sam taunted. "You deserve one another. It's time I took off. I promised Cramer I'd leave town if he'd drop the charges. I must have been out of my mind to come back here and try to explain. I don't know what in the hell got into me."
Sam strapped on his gunbelt, shoved his hat on his head and turned to leave. He unlocked the door, then paused with his hand on the knob. "Tell Andy good-bye for me." Then he was gone.
Sam headed to the barn for his horse. He was just reaching for the saddle he'd thrown over the railing when someone called out to him.
"Sam, is that you? I thought I heard someone ride in a while ago. I heard that Cramer dropped the charges against you, and that you'd left town. I knew you'd come back. You wouldn't leave Miz Lacey in a lurch."
A light flared. Sam squinted into its pale glow and saw Rusty, holding a lamp aloft.
"I'm not staying," Sam said curtly. "I came back because...oh, hell, you may as well know everything."
Rusty set the lamp down on a bundle of hay. "What is it, Sam?"
Deciding that he trusted Rusty more than he trusted Lacey, Sam told the foreman everything. About being wanted in Kansas, his reasons for allowing Lacey to believe he was dead, and his fear of going to prison for crimes he hadn't committed.
"I signed the divorce document Cramer presented under duress," he explained. "I'm not proud of the fact that the only reason I told everyone about our marriage and remained here was to punish Lacey for what I'd perceived as her betrayal. Now I'm not so sure she did betray me, but it's too late to make amends."
Rusty remained silent a long time, then he said, "What about your son? Andy thinks the world about you."
"Andy isn't really my son," Sam said. "But don't get me wrong. He's a youngster any father would be proud to claim."
Rusty gaped at him in shock. "You're a damn fool, Sam Gentry, if you think Andy isn't your son. All I had to do was see you two together to know he's your flesh and blood. He may not have your coloring, but everything else about him is pure Gentry.
Sam felt as if he'd just taken a blow to his gut. What Rusty said couldn't be true. Lacey would have told him if Andy was his, wouldn't she? His first reaction was elation. Then his face hardened. "Lacey must hate me a great deal to keep the truth about Andy's parentage from me."
"Only you can answer that question, son," Rusty said.
"No," Sam growled. "Lacey can answer it better than I. I'm going up to the house and demand the truth."
Neither Rusty nor Sam saw the stealthy figure huddling just inside the barn door, close enough to hear them but far enough away so as to remain outside the ring of lamplight. Taylor Cramer had arrived late at the ranch. His horse had thrown a shoe and he'd had to walk nearly the entire distance. He hadn't considered turning back, for he wanted the signed divorce document too badly.
Cramer had seen the light in the barn and had investigated out of curiosity. He'd heard the entire conversation between Gentry and the B&G foreman, and what he'd learned made him want to shout with glee. But he restrained himself. Moments later the lamp was doused. Rusty returned to the bunkhouse and Sam strode with grim purpose to the house for another confrontation with Lacey.
Once the coast was clear, Cramer sneaked into the barn and exchanged his horse for one of the B&G horses. Then he rode hell for leather back to town.
Chapter Eight
Sam stormed into the house and up the stairs. Lacey reared up in bed as he burst through the bedroom door. The lamp had burned low, but Sam thought he saw a shimmer of tears in her eyes. He brushed his concern aside and charged into the room. He'd come for the truth and nothing was going to stop him from getting it.
"I thought you left," Lacey gasped. "Haven't you tormented me enough?"
"Who is Andy's father?" Sam bit out.
"What? Why would you ask that now?"
Sam grasped her shoulders and pulled her up until they were nose to nose. "Who, Lacey? No lies this time. I want the truth."
"Andy is your son!" Lacey all but shouted. "If you had half a brain you'd know."
He released her. "Why did you lie to me?"
Lacey scrambled to her knees. "You don't deserve a son like Andy."
Sam snorted derisively. "I suppose Cramer does."
"You chose to believe what you wanted," Lacey said, skirting Sam's question. "I would have told you about Andy had you been the least bit interested in claiming him."
"What about those other men, the ones you had after me? What makes you so certain Andy is mine?"
Lacey aimed a fist at Sam's face but his reflexes were too keenly honed. He caught her wrist before her blow landed, pinning it behind her.
"Bastard!" Lacey hissed. "Look at Andy. Really look at him. He's the image of you, despite his fairness. What made you decide Andy was your son all of a sudden?"
Sam noted with chagrin that Lacey hadn't denied having had other men. He vaguely recalled hearing her defend herself while he was making love to her, but couldn't be sure. Her lack of denial now confirmed his belief that there had been other men after him, just as there had been countless women during those years he'd sought to banish Lacey from his memory.
"Rusty made me see the light."
"Rusty, of course, I should have known. Everyone except you assumed Andy was yours. I'm surprised you believed him."
"Rusty said things that made me stop and think. He said Andy was much like me and when I thought about it, I decided he was right. I accept that Andy is my son," Sam allowed, and I freely admit I felt a bond between us the moment we met, but I chalked it up to the boy's innocent appeal. He's really something," Sam bragged, unable to suppress the grin spreading across his face. "I'm glad he's mine."
Suddenly Sam's face hardened. and he glared down at Lacey with renewed venom. "If you think I'm going to allow Cramer to raise my boy, you're loco, lady."
Lacey glared at him. "There's nothing you can do about it. You've ignored me and Andy too long for your wishes to be considered. Can you give Andy the life he deserves? Think about it, Sam. You're an outlaw. Andy is better off without you."
Sam grit his teeth, frustrated beyond endurance. "I didn't rob that bank. I admit I should have stayed and fought the false charges, but my brothers and I were desperate to escape the posse. Dodge City is a lawless town and justice is swift. We would have been condemned and hung before we were brought to trial."
"I see we're at an impasse," Lacey said. "You're still on the run. You'd be doing Andy a favor by quietly disappearing."
The Outlaws: Sam Page 10
