Banking on Temperance: Book Three of the Cotillion Ball Series (Crimson Romance)

by Lower, Becky

  “Perhaps there is another option that you have not yet considered.”

  “Such as?”

  Joseph stared long and hard at his friend. “Ginger is right. Sometimes you are an ass.”

  Basil glared back. He narrowed his eyes at Joseph and his spine stiffened. The December wind off the water whipped his hair around his head, matching his rampant feelings. He remained silent.

  Joseph filled the void by stating the obvious. “You want this woman as you have never wanted a woman before, and you do not know what to do with your feelings.”

  Basil shrugged. “So?”

  Joseph let out a long breath. “At least you will admit it, if only to me.”

  In an attempt to lighten the mood, Basil replied, “Hell, you’re the one who has visions about things and can see into the future. You, of all people, would see right through me if I didn’t confess.”

  Joseph didn’t smile in return. “I do not need a vision to see what is in front of me. You might be an ass, but you are not stupid. Quit acting as if you are.”

  “You want me to take control of her entire family?”

  “They are a package, it seems. Have you not been doing that very thing since the day they arrived in town?”

  “It’s not the same.”

  “Is it not?”

  Basil didn’t reply. Sometimes Joseph and his Indian ways really got on his nerves.

  Joseph pulled his body up from its reclining position at the hitching post. “Are you ready to return to the hall? It has become quite chilly tonight with the wind kicking up.”

  Basil began to walk away. “You go on back if you want. I need to take in some night air before I return.”

  He walked down toward the docks, inhaling the sharp winter air, which was tinged with the scent of the Mississippi River. Men streamed on board the steamboats to try their luck with both the cards and the ladies. Good-natured laughter and a piano from somewhere on the boats wafted across the water in the stiff breeze, but he had no wish to join in their merriment. Joseph might be annoying tonight, but he did have one thing right and he had honed in on it as if he was an arrow and Basil was the mark.

  Basil did want Temperance as he’d never wanted a woman before. There, he admitted it. But it was now too late. Whether intentional or not, he’d set things in motion to help her fulfill her father’s wish to get her family to Oregon and to safety. She would make Jake fall in love with her. How could he not, once she turned her affections to him? How could any man resist a woman such as Temperance? And, despite everything Jake told Basil about not taking a wagon full of women and children with him, he’d take her.

  His thoughts went back to the one big love he’d had in his life. Rachel. He pursued her with a single-mindedness that drove all other distractions from his mind. Even with the knowledge that she had a multitude of lovers, not just him, he loved her still. But the emotion he had for Rachel was nothing compared to what he now was feeling for Temperance.

  Rachel got away from him, by dying, before he declared his love for her. Was he willing to let Temperance get away, too? It was one thing to offer some modest assistance to help out a struggling family, but quite another to take on the burden legally. Did he really want to tie himself down, not just to her, but also to her mother, five siblings, and a new one on the way?

  He always thought he wanted, someday, to have a wife and four or five children of his own. But if he married Temperance, he’d be starting off their life together with a large brood already in place. Was that what he wanted? The wind had no answers for him. Reluctantly, he turned back toward the dance.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Jake sat at the card table with a whisky in one hand and a winning combination in the other. He was on a roll so far this winter; that much was for certain. Not only did he usually walk away from the card table with more money than he started with, he also had a pretty and proper young lady to escort to various events in town, helping establish his career as a trustworthy leader. Already, he was almost completely booked for the wagon train he was taking west in a few more months.

  He had his system for running an efficient train down pat, now that he’d taken four trains out so far. He hired five good, solid men to help him, and placed each one in direct charge of ten wagons. He oversaw all their activities, but the day-to-day operations of the wagons fell to these men.

  If one wagon of the ten had to stop because of faulty equipment or illness, or to search for missing cattle, it didn’t hold up the entire train, only the ten wagons under that man’s care. They would eventually meet up again, at various campsites, when the larger train in front stopped to wash clothes or cook food for the week ahead. He was on the search now for one more reliable man to round out his efforts. He ran his fingers over his cards while he thought. The piano provided a musical background to the various conversations going on around him.

  Yes, his efforts on the part of the wagon train were moving along nicely. And, he’d have to say, his relationship with Temperance was moving along, too. He expected to take his time with her. He placed his cards face down on the table and lit a cheroot, breathing in the aroma of the tobacco as he contemplated Temperance.

  After all, she wasn’t one of the dance hall girls he’d been used to in St. Louis. No, Temperance reminded him more of the girls back home in Indiana. Especially the one sweet little one he thought he’d been in love with before he came west to hunt for gold. His plan when he left home was simple enough. He’d pan for gold for two years only, and give her time to grow into herself. She’d been just a young woman when he left. His triumphant return to Indiana was marred by her decision to marry someone else while he was gone.

  So, he had money and success. He was admired by others and was able to make his way around the wilderness that was the western United States. But what he didn’t have was a woman, a wife. Perhaps Temperance could be that woman. He’d have to keep her in St. Louis, though, rather than out west, since all he did when he got to Oregon was turn around and head back to civilization for the winter. If he married, he’d want his woman near him for at least a good part of the year. Otherwise, what was the point?

  She had an angle, though, to get her large family headed west. He didn’t mind sparking her this winter, but he’d be damned if he’d take that family, with all their bad luck, and without a man at the helm, on his wagon train.

  “Are you going to place a bet, Shelton, or sit there all night moon-faced, thinking about your new lady?”

  Jake glanced across the table at Mike Jewel, one of the men he was considering for the job of unit leader. Mike didn’t kowtow to him just because he was the man’s potential boss. Jake smiled. The man definitely pulled no punches. He might be a good addition to the wagon train.

  “I’m trying to decide what to buy my lady with all my winnings,” Jake replied.

  “We’ll see about that. I’ll call ya.”

  Jake paused and took a drink. He smacked his lips in appreciation before he spread out his cards. “Read them and weep, Jewel.” He laughed as he scooped the dollar bills and coins off the middle of the table and rose from his chair. “Thank you, gentlemen. Good night to all.”

  The rest of the players moaned and begged for a chance to win their money back, but Jake walked out of the tavern. Maybe little Temperance would swoon over a new bonnet. Perhaps she’d even reward him with another kiss, a better one than she’d given him at the dance. While it was a pleasant enough kiss, he wanted more than just a taste of her. She was a comely woman, with a small, lithe figure. Not overblown, as were so many of the girls in the dance halls, but perfectly appropriate to her petite stature. He’d wait a few more weeks for her to make a move before he tried anything.

  • • •

  Temperance waited impatiently at the back door of the bank for Basil to unlock it and let her inside. She’d been
curt with everyone, and angrier than she cared to admit, since the night of the Christmas dance. Jake had insisted on driving her home in an open buggy. She was freezing as the cold wind whipped past them. When she said as much, he put his arm around her and drew her close to him. What should have been a tender moment merely annoyed her. His body heat did little to melt her resistance, and she wanted nothing more than to say goodnight.

  She laid in bed, staring at the ceiling for hours. She was doing what she had to do, dammit. But why was it so hard? Jake was a most handsome man. In fact, other than Basil, he was probably the best-looking man in all of St. Louis. So why was there no sizzle between them? As she fended off one move after another on the ride home, she began to wonder if she could put up with his advances night after night once they were married. Perhaps her desire for him would develop slowly, as it had with Jeremiah. She should give it time. Not every man was going to attract her instantly, and make her come close to losing control. Thank God.

  Basil came to the door, finally. He opened it slightly, but as she grabbed the handle, he turned his back to her and went inside, not even waiting to see that she got in safely. His behavior was maddening, and she was so close to anger as it was. It would not take much more of his behavior to push her over the edge.

  She stomped into the room behind him and removed her coat and boots as he took a seat behind his desk. There was no need for them both to be rude, so she spoke.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Fitzpatrick.”

  Basil glanced at her quickly, and then went back to his papers. “Miss Jones. I’ll be out of your way in just a minute. I’m about finished here.”

  She got her cleaning supplies from the closet. Angry tears threatened to spill from her eyes, and she blinked them away. Picking up her dust rag, she turned from him. Then she turned around and dropped the cleaning bucket with a loud clatter.

  Basil glanced up from his desk, startled.

  “I can’t stand it anymore,” Temperance declared.

  “Stand what, Miss Jones?”

  “That!” She punched the air between them with her hands, pointing to him and then back to herself. “This! Miss Jones. Mr. Fitzpatrick. What happened to Temperance and Basil?”

  “I called you Temperance when we were friends. But we are now merely employer and employee. So it’s Miss Jones and Mr. Fitzpatrick.”

  “What’s become of our friendship then?”

  “It got left behind in the dust of your ambition, Miss Jones. I’ll take my papers upstairs so as not to annoy you further.”

  He gathered up the scraps of paper from his desk and walked from the room.

  She sputtered and fumed, breathing fire as the door to Basil’s apartment staircase closed behind him. That no-good, self-centered ass! How dare he say their friendship had been destroyed by her ambition! If they’d truly been friends, he would have stood by her and championed her clever attempts to get her family moved westward. But once he introduced her to Jake, it was as if he’d turned his back on her. She could take him turning his back on her as a woman, but not as a friend. She yanked open the door and ran up the stairs.

  “How dare you!” She didn’t bother to knock at the top of the steps, she was so angry.

  He turned to face her, but didn’t reply.

  “Well? How dare you say that I’m the one who turned away from your friendship? You’ve become my best friend here in town, Basil, and I miss our good times. You never come to the restaurant anymore, and you barely talk to me at all here. Do you want me to quit? To leave?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  “If you know what’s best for you, leave, right this minute.”

  “Why? Because you’ll tell me something I don’t want to hear?”

  Basil crossed the room to her in two strides. He placed his hands on either side of her face and growled, “Not because of what I’ll tell you, but because of what I’ll do.” He lowered his mouth to hers, crushing her tender lips beneath his own.

  Temperance stood still, in shock at what was happening. The breath whooshed out of her lungs. Her arms hung by her sides, but her mouth and tongue were doing battle with Basil’s. She wanted this, she had wanted this since the night in October when she stayed here. She’d begged Basil then, silently, to take her to bed, but he had remained stalwart. Now, she could tell his emotions for her rivaled her feelings for him. She breathed a contented sigh.

  She moved her arms finally, and wound them around his broad shoulders, welcoming him. Her back was up against the wall as Basil continued to kiss her with all the pent-up passion that had been building between them for months. His hand drifted from her cheek down her front, and cupped her breast, just as he had unconsciously done the night they lay side by side. She gasped as tendrils of delight coursed through her body, starting at the tip of her breast and racing to the core of her being. She pulled him closer, reveling in his scent of spice and man. She tasted the tobacco on his breath, along with mint, and thought there had never been so delightful a combination.

  This is where I belong. Not Oregon.

  His leg worked its way between hers and he pressed up against her sensitive center. She shivered in delight as his leg began to rhythmically pulse against her. A small moan drifted from her mouth as she sunk her fingers into his hair. He ran a row of scorching kisses from the left corner of her mouth up to her temple, then down to the pulsing vein in her neck. As he tugged gently, her whimpers became stronger. She was desperately kissing his hair, his forehead, anything she could touch. His moans matched hers as the torrid, sensual dance continued.

  His hand drifted to the buttons running down the front of her dress. He slowly unbuttoned each one, taking the time to kiss each inch of new skin he uncovered. Temperance thought she would surely combust from the sensation of his mouth on flesh that had never before been touched by a man. When he had fully exposed her front, he moved the dress fabric out of the way, leaving only her chemise. He placed his hand over her small mound of bosom and began to massage it. Her body shuddered and she cried out, unconsciously raising herself into his hand. He lowered his mouth to her nipple and suckled it through her chemise. She squirmed in ecstasy and wrapped her fingers into his hair.

  When she didn’t pull away, he lowered the strap on the chemise and exposed her breast to the evening air. She shivered, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the cold air or from the heat he was causing within her. His mouth covered her nipple directly this time and she inhaled sharply. “Oh, sweet Lord,” she cried out.

  With a ragged breath, Basil pried his lips from her breast, and backed off a step. He ran his hand through his hair. Temperance couldn’t talk. She couldn’t breathe. Her senses were still writhing out of control. He backed away one more step, staring at her with lust-filled eyes.

  “That is why you should never set foot in this apartment. If you come near me again, I’ll not stop at your breast. I will have all of you, and ruin all your plans for marriage to Jake. And that is why we can no longer be friends. You’ve made your choice, Temptress. Now leave me alone.”

  • • •

  Basil sunk to the floor with his head between his hands. Temperance’s muffled tears as she ran down the stairs and out into the alley would haunt him forever. He didn’t try to stop her. If he did, he’d be lost forever. And he didn’t want the noose of responsibility for seven, soon to be eight, people, around his neck. Already, worry about her and her family had consumed six months of his life, and he needed to be done with them. And with her. He wanted his old life back. The one he enjoyed before the Jones family invaded his bank. And his heart.

  He pressed his back up against the wall. The same wall he had pinned Temperance to as he ravished her mouth, played with her breast, pressed himself against her very core. What had he been thinking? He pounded his forehead in frustration. She needed Jake Shelton, not so
me banker in St. Louis. He could never get her family to Oregon, and that’s where she needed to be.

  Oh, but her mouth was so tempting. He wanted to melt into her and never leave.

  He sat upright and raked his hands over his face. Enough! Enough of pining away for her and begrudging Jake for what he could give her that Basil couldn’t. That wasn’t his style. Women usually fought for his attention, not the other way around. He’d just been out of the game too long. He hadn’t been this long without a woman since he was made aware of what sex was all about. No wonder he reacted as if he were an animal in heat when Temperance invaded his quarters. All he needed to do to put this behind him was take himself to the dance hall tonight and find Desireé. She’d let him have his way with her without putting up too much resistance. Then he’d be back to normal again. He was certain of it.

  Almost.

  With a weary sigh he hoisted himself to his feet and stared out the window into the dusk. That’s what he’d do. Put on his shoes and coat and head to the dance hall.

  He continued to stand by the window.

  Put on your shoes and coat and head to the dance hall, dammit!

  His feet did not move.

  The town clock struck midnight as he roused himself from his haze of lethargy. He glanced out the window one more time, and then took himself to bed. He tossed and turned as his mind replayed the evening. He relived every nuance of their kisses. She tasted so sweet he could drown in it and die happy, and she smelled of spring flowers. He recalled the softness of her skin where no man had ventured previously. He put away his thoughts about other parts of her body where no man had been before either, and groaned as he turned over once more. Finally, he fell into a tortured sleep, where he dreamed of a rosy mouth and a lovely pink nipple that responded ever so willingly to his touch.