High-Riding Heroes

by Joey Light

  He unbuckled his gun belt and threw it on the table. Loaded? She’d bet it didn’t contain the blanks used in the shows. Nick pulled his belt from his jeans and tossed it away. Pulling his shirt out of his pants, he unbuttoned it and dropped it to the floor. His bare chest only proved his strength. Scared he was going to shed all his clothes, Victoria hurriedly reached for her bag. She needed to change. “Wait outside while I change to my night clothes, Nick.”

  He laughed then and shook his head. “Don’t be afraid of me, Vic. I’m not going to force you into anything. Besides, you’re still feeling bad. After we’re married we’ll…”His eyes traveled the length of her and back again. “After we’re married. Just for now, I’ll turn my back.”

  She dropped on the bed. “I’m too tired to change.”

  He walked to the table and, with his heated gaze on hers, turned the knob to douse the light.

  He followed her to the bed and the creak of the old springs railed through her like nails on a chalkboard. He plumped the ratty pillows up against the shaky headboard and sat back against them. Pulling her to lie against him, he sighed contentedly.

  He had his arm wrapped around her like a steel band. Her head rested on his chest. His heartbeat echoed in her head like the gong of a clock’s chimes, ticking away the minutes, reminding her of her isolation. She’d wait. She’d wait until he fell asleep and then she would be able to slip from his embrace and out of the shack, into the night. It didn’t matter what was out there or how far away they were from anything. She’d just run and run. She’d be free.

  “Vic?”

  His voice was soft and she almost felt sorry for him. “What?”

  “Tell me this can work out.”

  She became instantly alert. Was he coming out of the other world and drifting back into reality?

  She wasn’t sure where she wanted him.

  “This isn’t the way…or the place to talk about this, Nick.” It was so dark. Her eyes were open, yet she could only see the haziest of forms in the room. She couldn’t see Nick but she could feel him, hear his breathing. His hand moved slowly through her hair.

  He pulled her closer to him. “I reckon it isn’t…but it doesn’t matter. We’re here. And here we’ll stay for a few days.”

  Remaining quiet, Victoria now hoped that Wes didn’t find out where they were. Nick sounded resolved. Nick sounded dangerous. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Nick’s hand rubbed, easily, gently up and down her arm. He began to hum some Western tune she couldn’t put a name to but recognized. He’d slipped into never-never land. How did he see things from there? Surely there was no rationale in the state this man was in. Oh God. What’s going to happen next?

  Buck ordered, “Cut the engine here. We’ll walk up.” Wes had already shut down the motor, pocketed the keys, and begun the sprint up the hill toward the building.

  They saw the outline of the shack in the moonlight. The night was still. No sign of life other than Nick’s truck parked beside it. No night birds sang their song. No animals rustled in the brush. Even the wind had lessened to a whisper. Wes realized he was holding his breath and let it out in a fury.

  “Calm down, boy. You’re going to screw this thing up,” Buck whispered, a hand on Wes’s arm, jerking him to the ground beside him in a clump of trees.

  For the first time in his life, his analytical mind failed him and his gut emotions took over. “We’ll storm the place. You from the back and me from the front.”

  Buck shook his head. “Just like the damn cavalry. You have been in Glory Town too long. If you weren’t in love with her, I’d sure be disappointed in you.

  We don’t know if he’s armed or what. Let me sneak up the hill and see if I can get a look inside. If he spots me, it might not panic him like seeing you would. You stay here, hothead.”

  “There’s no light on in there. How the hell are you going to see anything?”

  “This old man’s got eyes like an owl. Stay put.” Buck felt Wes’s turmoil but he knew one of them had to keep a cool head.

  Wes sat. If he didn’t, he’d be up there like a shot, pushing his way through the door, pounding Nick into the ground and grabbing Victoria and going home. She’d never get out of his sight again. The fact that she had been cool and aloof after the fire only attested to how deeply all this had affected her. So much had happened to her in the last few days, she was beginning to buckle from the weight of it all.

  He watched as Buck’s shadow snaked its way, too slowly and too quietly, up the hill. Instinct moved to take over. His nerves crackled. This went against his nature.

  Charging in was his way. But in this instance, maybe this time Buck might be right. And if his actions ended up hurting Victoria in any way…or if his lack of action…damn. He began his climb.

  Nick was asleep. His breathing had evened out and his hold on her relaxed a little. She’d wait. Just a little longer until he was deeply asleep and then she’d make a run for it. She forced her eyes to remain open even though her body cried for sleep, her mind yearned for release. Did she dare make a slow dive with her fingers in his pocket for the truck keys? She moved her hand to the edge of his pocket. He stirred and nestled into the mattress a little more, banding her even tighter to him. No matter. She’d go without them.

  Buck creeped along, not wanting to disturb any night creatures that might raise a fuss.

  Knowing that the old porch on the shack would creak under his weight, he made his way around back in a wide circle. Closing in on the building, he targeted the window on the left.

  Crouching down under it, he raised slowly. Nothing. “Eyes, don’t fail me now,” he muttered to himself. He kept peering in until he could make out shadows and forms. They were on the bed. Together. For an instant a silly thought formed in his brain. What if she had come up here willingly with Nick? They certainly looked comfortable enough from where he stood. What if he had read the girl wrong? Nah. He shook his head. Then what if he had already forced himself upon her?…

  He’d throw open the back door, grab Vic, and be gone before Nick knew what happened. He straightened, prepared himself for the impact with the door, and then moved. At exactly the same instant, he heard the front door crack and slam open. Damn it. Wes hadn’t waited. He lunged for the back door.

  Confusion. Total. Confounded by the darkness and not knowing where anything or anybody was, Wes stood silhouetted by what little moonlight there was.

  Victoria, startled, panic pounding in her head, leaped from the bed toward the shadowy form she knew was Wes. Her knight in shining armor. Her hero. Buck jumped on the bed, and before Nick knew what was happening, Buck was on him, pinning him to the mattress.

  “Git,” he hollered to the two standing by the door. “I’ll bring Nick down in his truck.”

  Strengthened by adrenaline rushing through his veins, Nick shoved the old man to the floor and dove for his Victoria. Wes shoved her outside and cheerfully drew back a fist and punched Nick in the face.

  Wes heard Nick’s animal-like growl as he righted himself and jumped Wes, arms flying, fists pounding. He fought like a cornered bear, and as Wes fell to the floor after one of his stunning blows, he swore and launched a new attack.

  Buck found the handle of something heavy and approached the two figures. Hoping he had the right head under aim, he swung hard and heard the decided thud as it made contact.

  At first all went quiet. The men stood still as statues. Then Nick slumped to the floor in a heap. Buck let out a whistle between his teeth.

  Buck wrapped Nick’s wrists together with an old rope that had been hanging from a nail on the wall. “Get her out of here, Wes.”

  Wes and Victoria could hear Nick’s confused struggles and yelps of protest as he came to. Wes didn’t want to leave the old man alone and then remembered Buck. He could take care of himself.

  Safe. In his arms, she nearly collapsed. As he helped her to the porch, she remembered Nick’s gun belt thrown carelessly on the table. She wanted it out
of there just in case it was loaded with live bullets. She wrenched herself free of Wes’s grasp and lunged back in the cabin. As she felt her way to the table, grabbed the belt and slid it off, she heard Nick call her name. She stopped. It was such a cry, a plea for her to help him. A tear slipped down her cheek. Then Wes was there, yanking her outside. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her down the hill.

  Free. She hadn’t known how precious a thing that was until they were in Wes’s truck. He gathered her in his arms and pressed her close to him. “I thought I might lose you. God, Victoria, what happened? How did you get way out here with him?”

  She couldn’t tell him that her plan was to leave anyway. Because it still was. God help her, she had to leave Glory Town for good. For Wes’s good. For her good. She alone had been responsible for Katie and she had endangered her. How could he ever really love her again? If he ever did? After what she heard outside the sheriff’s office…would she have ever been sure?

  He’d go on with his life. He had his parents and his daughter.

  What would she do? “It’s over, Wes. I’m so tired. I need to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow. Just don’t hurt him.”

  He pushed her away from him. “Everyone is so worried I’ll kill Nick. I just might. He can’t simply take what he wants. Who he wants. Did he hurt you?”

  “You hurt me. He didn’t hurt me. He’s the one that needs help. Not me.”

  “And damn lucky Buck saw to it that I didn’t get my hands on him again.”

  He gathered her in his arms but he could feel restraint instead of the yielding he needed. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her hands because he needed the contact. He pushed her away from him so he could see her in the lights from the dash. She wasn’t smiling. She looked pale and drawn and tired.

  Wes turned in the seat and started the truck. She relaxed against his shoulder, reveling in the feel of his strength and solidness. Her heart shattered, splintering through her like sparks from a fire. They weren’t good for each other. He deserved more. And maybe she did, too. She had never been able to give what was needed to make her marriage to David survive. She had never been a source of pride to her mother. She remembered the way Wes looked running with Katie toward the ambulance. Remembered the dark circles of sadness beneath his eyes during her hospital stay. She had almost killed his daughter. She wondered if she’d ever be happy again. And where would she go…her eyes closed. The gentle, safe rock of the truck lulled her to sleep.

  Wes took one hand off the steering wheel and put it around her shoulder. She slumped against him. He felt the hand clenching the steering wheel begin to ache. He loosened his grip and tried to relax. He was never going to let her out of his sight again. He’d come too close to losing everything that meant anything to him in the last few days. Katie

  and Victoria. Determination furrowed across his brow. Taking a deep breath, he kissed the top of her head and willed himself to believe everything was fine. He had her back. He could feel the warm softness of her body as she leaned against him. It would be this way from now on. No one and nothing would change that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  He didn’t take her to Glory Town. Even as she hung suspended between wakefulness and deep sleep, she knew it wasn’t Glory Town. It was the ranch. He was carrying her through the darkened rooms, up the stairs. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laid her head there. Wes shoved at the door with his booted foot. And then he was laying her down in his big soft, down-covered bed in his room. He was unbuttoning her shirt. If he’d asked her, she would have refused the refuge…but he hadn’t asked. And it wouldn’t hurt to love him one more time.

  His fingers roused her. The gentle brush of his flesh on hers brought her further from sleep but into a dreamy state. She had no idea what time it was or what day it was or what month it was. She knew only that he was there with her. The man she loved with all her heart. Nothing mattered anymore. Not the screaming warnings that echoed off in the distance of her mind, telling her, reminding her that she was putting an end to this relationship.

  Gently, he lifted her, pulling the blouse away from her. Laying her back, he shed her of all her clothes, tossing them across the room.

  Then he was under the light cotton blanket beside her. Gathering her in his arms, he pulled her across his chest. Wes kissed the top of her head, as he would a child’s, and closed his eyes. He wanted her badly but he knew she needed to be undisturbed. She had been through so much. He would have to be content with just holding her, knowing she was here, with him and safe.

  All during the night, she tossed and turned, groaned and fought, pleaded and cried softly. Drifting between sleep and wakefulness, Wes soothed her and calmed her. And gently held this woman he loved close to his heart.

  The first streams of the faint light of morning drifted between the curtains. A breeze lifted them gently, bringing the aroma of wildflowers into the room. Victoria became aware of where she was and that her body lay cradled against his.

  She felt the hard softness of him as she ran her fingers over his taut abdomen. Her fingers brushed against his jeans. Bless him. He was being cautious. She pulled at the snap. Soon enough they would be parted. Soon enough, she would no longer know the ecstasy of making love with him. There would be time for missing him later. Her mind and body needed him. Demanded him. Just this time. She wanted to be free and in love, one more time. And she wanted him to remember her. When he went to bed at night, he should remember the woman who loved him with all her heart, the woman he had tricked.

  He awoke quickly and smiled at her. He kissed her chin lightly. She turned her mouth up for full contact. Sensing the welcome in her movements, in her eyes, he rained open-mouthed kisses down her face. Turning her so she lay flat on the bed, he bent over her and slowly but surely, gently and with reverence, devoured her.

  His hands, his lips were everywhere at once. Running her hand through his hair, she brought his mouth up to hers. He held his face inches away from hers, looking at, soaking up that eager gaze in her eyes that even the shadows of morning couldn’t conceal and he was happy.

  Happier than he had ever been. Life with her was going to be the best. He closed the space between them. This was only one in a million times when he would be inside her, filling her and being filled.

  She traced his mouth with the tip of her tongue and then met his lips with her own, open and inviting. Their warm breaths mingled and merged, branding-iron hot and just as effective.

  Under his hands, her breasts blossomed. Beneath his hands, her body arched, needing more and more contact. Licks of hunger drove the moans from her lips. Drew his whispers. All she knew, all her entire world consisted of was him. His hands, his mouth, his hair. His long, hard torso. His feet as they tangled with hers. His knees as they trapped hers.

  Her lids shuttered closed and she was lost in a world of dark red sparks and flowing lava. He kissed her fingers one by one, and the soreness from the fire, the splintered wood disappeared as the feel of his mouth spiraled from her fingertips to the very center of her. Then his mouth was trailing over her breasts, slowly down the center of her body, and then along the inside of her thighs. Grabbing handfuls of sheet, she held on for the ride as he continued his journey to her ankles, behind her knees and back.

  Despite the weakness caused by her ordeal, together they rolled across the bed, tangling sheets and spread. Pillows slipped silently to the floor.

  He could never get enough of her. He wanted her now but he forced himself to keep a tight rein on what pushed for release. She was like velvet, soft and yielding. She was like long grass in the wind, undulating and flowing. Still he guided her, took her along the path of higher places. He felt her hand reach for the zipper on his jeans and he helped her.

  Sizzling. The secret pleasure of her haste threatened to explode in him. Then when she pushed gently at his shoulder, he rolled over on his back and she bent over him. He was a locomotive coursing down the tracks at top speed. He was skydiving, floating a
nd twirling through space and time. And all the while, her hands, her lips glided softly here and then there and back again.

  Her mouth was like the soft, sweet petals of a rose as it poured over his flesh and seeped through his mind, killing any awareness of anything except her. Her gentle rovings drove him mad.

  The only pain that racked her body now was that of need. Of want. The need to please him. To bring to him all the love she had for him. When he reached to draw her close, she pushed his hands away and continued her exploration. Their bodies were slick and hot. She tasted him, tested him, and made him wait. Sultry. Lazily and then with speed, her mouth brought him pleasure that threatened to send him over the edge.

  Yet she made him wait. And want.

  No more. A man could take no more without…rolling her under him, he looked into her shuttered eyes. His hand moved slowly, down…down. Weak now, she let him have his way.

  Thunder echoed in the distance, trumpeting the imminent arrival of a storm. A cooling breeze ducked in the window, fluttering the curtains and carrying the scent of roses to linger there.

  His touch, his gentle words of love sifted through the light veil of sensation. Driven to peak after peak, her body writhed with delight. A kaleidoscope of colors twirled in her brain. Each color bringing its own heat, its own speed. A whirling pattern of sensations spun on a hot axis, dizzying her. Like a pinwheel spinning in the wind. A roller coaster ride of speed and thrill.

  And then he stopped. Reaching over to snap the little night-light on the stand, he looked down at her in the dim light.

  He ran his fingers over her lips. She nipped him. He pushed her unruly hair behind her ear. She kissed his chin. Rearing his head, he positioned himself over her. “I want to see you when we’re together. I want to watch you become mine. Only mine.”

  He took her hands, twined his fingers with hers. She opened for him. He lifted, poised, for seconds only touching, only reveling in the heat of hot, wanting flesh against flesh. Pushing forward, ever so slightly, and so very slowly. Sliding, growing, filling, deeper…