by Myla Jackson
Zach snorted and rocked back on his heels. “Honor? You are fooling, aren’t you?”
She wished with all her might that her cutting glance would pierce his black heart. “That is my name.”
“A thief named Honor?” Zach bent over, his eyes watering, and slapped his knee. He sucked in a deep breath and guffawed, his laughter making his face turn red.
Honor observed the man with a mixture of awe and anger. How dare he laugh at her name? At the same time, his smile and laughter transformed him from an irritable monster to the genuinely handsome man she’d witnessed touching his partner in the pool. Anger forgotten, Honor looked at Zach quizzically. “You should smile more. It makes you look almost bearable.”
As soon as the words left her lips, she regretted uttering them.
Zach’s laughter died and his smile faded into the frown she suspected would be a permanent fixture in her presence.
She sighed and turned to the plate, eating faster than etiquette permitted. Not knowing when Zach’s benevolence would end, she wanted to fill her belly. Perhaps if she showed him that she could be trusted, he’d let her go.
When the plate was all but licked clean, Honor sighed. “Thank you. I haven’t eaten in two days.”
“Why are you in the mountains alone and wearing an Indian dress?” Jake had sat across from her, watching every bite she took. He seemed less of a threat than his partner.
Honor graced him with a smile. “I’m the only one I know of who survived an Apache attack on a wagon train headed for San Francisco six weeks ago.”
Jake’s brows rose. “How did you survive? Those redskins usually kill the lot.”
Honor looked away. “One of the Apache warriors, Running Bear, decided I would be his wife and dragged me out from under my wagon and into the mountains. It took me five weeks and five days to escape him. I was running from him when I came upon you two in the pool—” She gasped and clapped her bound hands over her lips.
Zach brought her to her feet by yanking on the rope. “You saw?” he demanded, his face a mottled red beneath his weathered tan.
Honor shook her head, the lie freezing on her lips. What she’d witnessed, she couldn’t forget. Never in a thousand years. She’d be thinking of it every night as she lay in bed, her body aching with the need to be touched.
Zach closed his eyes, his jaw hardening into stone.
Jake stood and laid a hand on Zach’s arm. “Now, Zach, maybe she didn’t see what you think she saw.”
The men appeared to be locked in some internal struggle over their tryst in the water. Could she use their discomfort to her advantage? A smile slipped across her lips and she quickly hid it behind her bound hands. “What do you think I saw?” she asked, adopting as innocent an expression as possible.
His black brows drawing into a deeper frown, Zach stared at her for a long moment before he groaned. “She saw.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Honor stared at her fingernails, pretending indifference, while her brain worked to find a way out of her dilemma. With no real plan in mind, she blurted out, “If you mean the two of you…ahem…pleasuring each other…” She smiled. “I didn’t see a thing.”
Zach jerked the rope and Honor stumbled against his chest. “Remember, Little Thief, the mountains can hide a lot of sin.”
She gulped, intimately aware of the broad chest and thickly muscled arms filling her vision. She forced a smile. “Are you referring to your little swim in forbidden waters?” Her fingers touched his chest, a thrill running though her at how strong he was, so unlike Parson Whitaker who, with his bony body and pale skin, insisted on coupling in the dark.
The big mountain man lifted her chin, lowering his face until their noses almost touched. His brows met to form a V. “How long did you watch?”
Her eyelids fluttered downward to mask the errant surge of desire that rose inside her at the memory of the two men touching each other. “Long enough.” Honor envisioned lying naked against this man’s body, the hard planes of his arms, chest and thighs pressed into all the soft places on her own. Her breath rasped through her lungs as she inhaled his fresh scent, clean as the mountain stream he’d bathed in. How could she lust after a stranger? A man she’d only known for a few short hours, one who would tie her up like an animal and treat her no better. With every breath she took, her breasts pushed against him, the sensitive nipples pebbling.
Jake laughed out loud beside her. “I’ll be hornswoggled. She liked it.”
Honor’s eyes opened wide. “Liked what?” Had he guessed at how attracted she was to his partner? Could he see the desire written all over her face?
“Dang, Honor, you’re my kind of woman.” Jake stood prouder and smiled at Zach. “She liked what she saw in the pool.”
Her cheeks flaming, she pushed away from Zach. “I did no such thing. What you two did was a sin. I would have no part of it.” She gulped, realizing that deep down she’d wanted to be a part of the two men touching each other in the stream.
“You did.” Jake’s gray-eyed gaze captured Zach’s, the look so intense Honor couldn’t mistake the desire. “I’ll bet if I did this…” he stepped behind her and pressed his body to her back, urging her forward until her breasts pushed into Zach’s chest, “…she’d get all excited.” He pushed harder, sandwiching her between himself and Zach.
Honor opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn’t find the words when Jake’s engorged cock nudged her buttocks. She gasped, the sudden indrawn breath scraping her nipples against the inside of the shirt she wore.
Zach’s hands came up to grip her arms. “Jake…” he warned, his voice husky.
Jake leaned over her shoulder and whispered into her ear, “You feel it, don’t you?”
Honor shook her head, her breath caught in her throat, the apex of her thighs throbbing, aching, dripping with her desire.
“See?” Zach said. “She doesn’t like it.” He shifted and his cock nudged her through his trousers, pressing into her belly.
Honor’s hips rocked forward involuntarily. She gasped, her eyes widening, her gaze leaping to his.
Zach’s blue eyes smoldered, his hands tightening on her arms.
Her lips suddenly parched, Honor swept them with her tongue.
The big mountain man’s nostrils flared and he ducked his head. “You are a witch.” His lips descended, pressing into her, slanting across her mouth in a furious kiss, as rough as it was passionate.
Honor’s bound hands dug into Zach’s shirt, her fingers dragging him closer, not pushing him away.
Jake’s hands clamped against her waist, smoothing down over her hips to the hem of the shirt. He slid his fingers under the garment, touching her flesh.
Her heart raced, every inch of her body on fire, her nether region pulsing. She couldn’t breathe with the need consuming her. The warmth of both men encompassed her and made her long for more.
Behind her, Jake lifted her hair, suddenly heavy and too hot for the back of her neck. He blew a steady breath of air past her ear. Shivers trickled down her spine and she leaned back, dragging Zach with her.
“You are a little hellcat, ripe for lovin’,” Jake whispered.
Zach’s hands left her arms and reached out to pull Jake closer, crushing Honor between them.
Hard ridges nudged against both sides of her. Shocked sensibilities be damned, Honor couldn’t help but revel in the sensations flooding her. Truly, she would rot in hell, with the fires of lust consuming her.
Jake’s hands circled her hips to slide low over her belly. He reached forward and flicked the buttons loose on Zach’s breeches.
Zach inhaled sharply.
For a moment, Honor held her breath, certain the big mountain man would draw away.
But he didn’t. Not even when Jake eased his cock from his pants and guided it toward the mound of hair covering Honor’s mons.
The forbidden temptation, coupled with the searing heat of both men’s bodies against her, pushe
d Honor past Parson Whitaker’s preachings. How could anything that felt this good be wrong?
Wicked, sinful, but…oh so right.
Jake released Zach’s cock and reached both hands below Honor’s buttocks. He lifted her.
Automatically, her legs wrapped around Zach’s waist, his cock poised at her woman’s opening. Hot, velvety pressure pressed against her, easing inside.
Jake let go of her. If he hadn’t been standing so close, Honor would have fallen back. Her hands still tied together in front of her, she had no other way to balance. She lifted her arms and hooked them over Zach’s neck, thus bringing her face within inches of his.
He stared into her eyes, his own blue gaze glazed, his jaw tight. “I don’t rape women,” he said.
“You aren’t,” Honor whispered, her eyes widening with the realization she wanted him. Her captor, the man who dared to tie her up. And she wanted the man he’d pleasured in the pool. What they had done had awakened in her a wanton desire she could not deny. Would not deny. She lowered herself over his cock, her channel wrapping around him warm, wet and ready.
Jake fumbled behind her, unbuttoned his fly and pulled his cock free.
Honor arched her back, pressing her bottom toward him, while Zach thrust into her all the way.
Jake’s cock slid between her legs, bumping into Zach’s balls.
The smooth steel of his cock warmed her bottom and made her anus pucker. “Ummm.” She leaned her head back over Jake’s shoulder, exposing her throat.
Zach pressed a kiss to her lower lip, nipped and tugged it with his teeth. Abandoning her mouth, he flicked his tongue along her jaw to her earlobe so close to Jake’s mouth.
When Zach reached out with his tongue to taste Honor’s earlobe, Jake intercepted, capturing the back of Zach’s head and pulling him close enough to suck his tongue fully into his mouth.
Honor could have laughed at Zach’s wide-eyed shock. But the two men kissing made her want more. “Surely I’m going to hell for this.” She turned her face toward the two men kissing and stuck her tongue out, tasting their joined lips.
Jake drew back, laughed and kissed her. “She’s a hellcat for sure.”
“I’m not a hellcat, I’m not a witch. I’m a widow, not some wilting virgin.”
Jake captured her ass in his palms. “Not a virgin…but have you been with two men?” He lifted her up the length of Zach’s shaft until only the tip remained inside her.
Honor dragged in a deep breath, her heart pounding. “Oh, dear Lord, no. I’ve never been with two men,” she said in a rush.
Zach captured her face and kissed her.
Jake fingered her where Zach’s cock penetrated her and dragged moisture back to her anus. Then he guided his cock to the tight entrance of her ass, pressing the rounded tip against her.
Her pulse quickened, thundering hard in her ears. “What…what are you doing?”
“Ever wondered what it would feel like to have two men at once?”
Honor couldn’t breathe. She shook her head, left to right, the motion angling to more of a nod. “No…yessss.”
Jake eased in, taking her ever so slowly, only a little, but enough to make her highly aware of his penetration.
“Tight, oh dear, so tight,” she gasped. Wicked, so wickedly delicious.
As Jake’s manhood pressed in from one direction, Zach’s filled her, edging toward her womb. Inside she could feel the two men’s cocks pressing against the channels.
She clung to Zach, every inch of her body on fire, her core a molten pool bursting into flame. Her legs tightened around Zach’s waist, bringing him closer as Jake pulled back and then went in again.
Honor struggled to breathe as she catapulted over the edge of reason and tumbled into the most spectacular orgasm she’d ever experienced. Never in her married life, nor her time with the savage, had she dreamed of such an unrestrained joining.
Zach thrust in and out, his movements quickening.
Jake slid free of her and reached between her legs to grab Zach’s balls as the dark-haired man thrust one final time.
Honor buried her face in Zach’s neck, her body shaking. The world spun around her, faster and faster. She closed her eyes, fighting to gain balance, but the dark edges of fog rushed in to consume her.
Chapter Five
Zach could tell the exact moment Honor passed out. Her body, only a moment before, had been taut, her legs clamped around his waist. Then she’d gone completely limp.
“Damn.” He wrapped his arms around her as her head lolled back.
“What’d ya do to her?” Jake cradled her head in his hands, his eyes wide and worried.
“What did I do? What did you do?” Zach lifted her off his wilting shaft and scooped his hands beneath her knees. If she hadn’t looped her arms around his neck, she’d have fallen. “Don’t just stand there, do something.”
“What? I never killed a woman by fucking her.”
“She’s not dead, you fool.” Or at least Zach hoped she wasn’t. His heart pounded against his ribs. He didn’t like to hurt people, especially not women. And he made it a rule not to rape them. Hell, she’d encouraged them. “Get her arms from around my neck.”
Jake buttoned his breeches, came around the side of Zach and Honor and tugged the woman’s arms over Zach’s head.
Once he had Honor laid out in his arms, Zach studied her, his body still, refusing to inhale until he knew for certain the woman was alive.
After an interminable moment, Honor breathed. Although shallow, she pulled air in and out, her chest rising and falling ever so slightly each time she inhaled.
“Did you see that?” Zach sucked in a breath and let it out, relief making him weak in the knees.
“I did.” Jake expelled an unsteady sigh. “She’s alive.”
“I need to set her down.” A little lightheaded, Zach staggered toward his bed and laid Honor on the straw-stuffed mattress. Zach sat on the bed beside her and untied her hands.
“What do we do?” Jake hovered over Zach, his brows drawn together.
“I don’t know. Ain’t ever had a woman pass out on me.”
“I’d go fetch a doc, but that would take four days to get to Idaho Springs and back.”
“No, by then she’d be dead, if she’s gonna die. Which she isn’t.”
“We can’t just do nothin’.” Jake paced the confined space of the tiny cabin, his eyes wild.
If Jake didn’t stop fretting, Zach would have to punch him to relieve some of his own worry and frustration. “Go. Get a fresh bucket of water from the stream.”
Jake stopped in mid-stride and glared at Zach. “What good will that do?”
“Didn’t your mamma ever put a cool cloth on your forehead when you were sick?”
Jake’s brows rose. “Yeah…she did.” He spun on his bare heels and ran from the cabin out into the darkness.
With Jake out of the cabin, Zach unclenched his jaw and stared down at the woman on his bed. Her fiery red hair spread around her. His big shirt rode up, exposing every last inch of her long, silky legs.
His cock hardened and a wave of guilt washed over him. How could he lust after a woman who lay as still as death because he’d satisfied his carnal needs on her when she’d said she hadn’t eaten in two days? If she’d been telling the truth about the Indian, she probably hadn’t slept in as long.
Still, he couldn’t help but admire the narrowness of her ankles, the smooth curve of her tight calves and the soft swell of her thighs. As his gaze traveled up the length of her legs, he sucked in a breath, his fingers tightening into fists.
Bruises marred her creamy skin, scrapes and cuts slashed across her ankles and calves, the blood dried. Had she sustained more injuries he couldn’t see? His fingers fumbled with the buttons of the shirt, making quick work of loosening them.
When he had the shirt unbuttoned, he laid the edges open.
Instantly, his dick filled, his groin tightening.
Breasts as full an
d ripe as melons were tipped with light rose-colored nipples, puckered into tight little nubs, like strawberries ripe for the pickin’.
His mouth parched as dry as a desert in a heat wave, Zachary swept his tongue across his lips.
“Sweet Jesus,” Jake said from the door.
Zach glanced up, heat rising in his cheeks. He quickly pulled the edges of the shirt back together to cover his discovery.
“Did you have to go and do that?” Jake set the bucket of water on the floor with a thump, water sloshing over the sides. “She’s real pretty. Let me see again.”
Zach shook his head. “No, it ain’t right.”
Jake snorted. “Weren’t you the one who wanted to kill her? Called her a thief and all.”
“I wasn’t gonna kill her. I just wanted to scare her a bit.” He glared at Jake. “Soak a cloth in that water and bring it here. She’s got a mess of cuts and scrapes that need cleaning up.”
Jake fumbled through his belongings and unearthed a square of cotton he used when he bathed. He dunked it in the bucket, wrung it out and crossed to where Zach sat beside Honor.
Zach extended his hand. “Give it to me.”
Jake held the cloth out of reach. “I got it.”
“I’m here, I might as well do it.”
“I got the water and the cloth. By golly, I get to wash her.”
“She’s not a doll to be playin’ with. Give me the damned cloth before I knock you down and take it from you.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “I can take you.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Zach held out his hand again.
With his lips pressed into a thin line, Jake slapped the wet cloth into Zach’s open palm. “Next time you go get the water.”
Zach started at the ankle and worked his way up her right leg, cleaning the cuts. Some of them appeared red and angry. “This one doesn’t look so good.”
“You should make that poultice you used on my leg when I cut it mining last month.” Jake lifted his trouser leg and stared down at the healing scar on his calf. “It did the trick.”
“Right.” Zach stood, handed Jake the cloth and glowered at him. “Clean only what needs cleaning. She doesn’t need us riding roughshod on her again.”
