by Vanessa Vale
"Her family didn't want her to know about the extra funds, for then she would know of their wrongdoing," the judge replied.
"You believe this?" Mr. Easton asked.
The judge gave him a pointed look. "The Sinclair men have had a fair trial for the crimes they did commit. I have no reason to believe Miss Sinclair had any part of their wrongdoing. There's no evidence to prove otherwise. Miss Carter is still at large and is someone you should go after. There is a bounty on her head, not Miss Sinclair's."
"I'm free to go?" I asked, tugging the sheet a little higher.
Mr. Easton looked at me, considering. I wanted to gloat, but now was not the time. I felt vindicated and once I had my clothes back, perhaps I could hold my head high in town once again. Although, with three relatives guilty of terrible crimes, it might not be possible.
"Not so fast, young lady." The judge rubbed his hands together. "Now then, onto more important concerns. Where are you clothes?"
I glanced down at the floor at my crumpled dress.
"I see. Were you alone with her all night?" he asked Mr. Easton.
"Yes, Your Honor."
"I dare ask the kinds of improprieties that occurred."
His eyes widened as if surprised by such a question. "As I said, nothing occurred. I didn't touch her," he countered, holding his hands up in front of him.
"Then why is she wearing a bed sheet?"
"She was my prisoner and I didn't want her to escape."
The judge's bushy eyebrow went up.
"Have you used this method before?" the judge asked.
Mr. Easton rubbed the back of his neck and looked abashed. "No, but she is my first female prisoner."
"I imagine so," the judge replied dryly. "I have high regard for your character, Easton. Of your values. I've known you a long time, and you've been quite successful at your job and well respected across the Territory. While I think your logic was sound, it lacked propriety in this instance. I don't stand for improprieties and this situation is most certainly one." He held his hand up in front of him when Mr. Easton was about to speak. "Prisoner or not, a woman can not be treated with the same regard. You've given me no choice here except to spare Miss Sinclair's virtue, therefore you will marry her. Now."
"What?" Mr. Easton and I shouted at the same time. My eyes widened and it was possible my heart skipped a beat.
The judge rubbed his hands together again. "I like marrying people much better than seeing them hang. Dearly beloved..."
CHAPTER THREE
PIPER
I was married to a bounty hunter in a hotel room wearing just a bed sheet. This was definitely not every girl's fantasy wedding day. Some unions were done spouse unseen. I'd heard of mail order brides where they were wed by proxy halfway across the country. I'd heard of marriages of convenience, especially when a woman was widowed and had children to feed. I'd even heard of shotgun weddings because of an overeager suitor. None of these were the case here. Yes, it was a shotgun wedding, but neither of us was interested in wedding the other, nor had any type of true impropriety occurred.
He hadn't even kissed me! If I was going to marry a man because of my virtue, he could have at least left it in tatters beforehand. But no, Mr. Easton was an ornery, annoying bounty hunter with honor. When the judge pronounced that Mr. Easton could kiss his bride and he lowered his head to plant a chaste kiss upon my lips, I hooked my hand around behind his neck and pulled him in for a real kiss. At least what I thought was a real kiss, for this was my first. I just wanted to know what it felt like, having a man's mouth on mine.
His lips were firm, yet warm, pliant yet yielding. It could have been that we had an audience or that he was stunned at the swift change of events, but I had a feeling there was more to a kiss than that. For just the briefest of moments he settled into the kiss, but quickly pulled back. The look on his face when he stood back to his full height was something akin to surprise. No, it was more like stunned. I think I must have had a similar expression because in that one moment when he actually had kissed me back, it had been...something.
The judge clapped his hands together. "Congratulations!"
I just stared at the man, not sure how to reply. Thank you wasn't really an option.
Mr. Easton cleared his throat. "What of the other Sinclairs?"
I may have just been married and my brain addled, so I was thankful to Mr. Easton for asking that valuable question. My emotions were so varied I felt like I had whiplash the time I was thrown from a horse. My family was guilty and I knew their outlook poor.
The judge pursed his lips. "They are guilty of their crimes and will hang."
My stomach plummeted and little black dots swam before my eyes. I felt a hand on my arm and one just above my breasts.
"Easy, Laurel," Mr. Easton murmured in my ear. I was picked up and held snuggly against his warm body, but I didn't care, didn't register much of anything except that my family was all going to be dead, and soon.
"Judge, I'll take care of her now. I'd say thank you for stopping by, but..."
I just looked at Mr. Easton's shirtfront as the men spoke.
"Yes, yes," the judge said. "I'm sorry to have upset you Miss Sinclair, I mean Mrs. Easton, but there was no delicate way to put it. You're in good hands with your new husband. I assume you will want to track down Miss Carter?"
"Yes, Your Honor," Mr. Easton replied.
"Good day then."
I heard the door close, but didn't care.
Mr. Easton felt warm and solid, comforting and safe all at once. Odd, since I didn't even like him. He just let me sit quietly for a time. "Laurel, you have to know your family was guilty."
I thought of Bill, running out of the stable with a rifle in his hands, firing at the bounty hunters—and me—with a look of hatred and intent blatant on his face. I'd never seen my brother in such light, but perhaps I'd never known the real Bill after all. Perhaps I didn't know any of my family. They were liars. Robbers. Killers. While they hadn't been cruel to me, they hadn't been kind either. It hadn't been easy for me on the ranch, and I'd wanted to escape the life there often enough. Perhaps I knew what they were like all along, but just refused to see it. Regardless, their illegal ways had caught up with them and now they were to die.
I nodded into his chest. He smelled good. Like pine trees and sunshine and something else, something primitive and male and very appealing. "I know. I mean...I didn't know, but now I do."
Tilting my head back, I looked into his green eyes, so clear and direct. This close I could see the stubble on his jaw, the sleep tousled hair. Before I had time to even consider his intent, he lowered his head and kissed me, this time his lips brushing over mine as if testing the feel of them. His motion was slow, the pressure light. I exhaled at the almost soothing touch and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth. I gasped this time in surprise, his tongue plundering, learning, and laving me with carnal, almost illicit movements. This was a kiss? I never knew a man's tongue went in your mouth or that I would like it so much!
His body temperature rose and I was surrounded by his heat. His hand moved to my nape to hold me in place and I was unable to resist, for I didn't want to. I'd always wondered what it would be like to kiss a man, but this went above and beyond.
Eventually, he lifted his head and his eyes were darker and focused on my mouth, his skin flushed, his lips wet.
"What...what was that?" I asked, my voice breathy and soft.
"If I am to be convicted and sentenced to committing inappropriate acts upon your person, then I should...we both should...at least reap the benefits."
"But...but my family." He'd addled my brain with his kiss, but not enough to distract me.
He sighed, set me next to him on the bed. I felt cold.
"They...they knew the consequences, Laurel, and are probably not surprised by the verdict as you are. Remember, they are guilty. They killed innocent people. There's nothing you can do for them."
What he sa
id was true, I knew it deep down, but it was not easy to reconcile. "Then we should just go on kissing and I should just forget about them?"
He shook his head. "Kissing, yes. Forget them? No. You shouldn't forget about them, for they're your family, but you should remember the good things about them."
I darted my eyes away. "I don't have very many good things to remember about them."
He ran a finger down my cheek, which had me looking up at him. "I don't hold fond memories of my mother. Sometimes it's all right to forget. Didn't you ever just want to do that?"
I pursed my lips. Just yesterday I wanted to drive the horses right past Zenith and keep on going, to forget my life, my family. Everything. "Quite frequently, actually."
He looked down at me and grinned. It was the first time I'd seen him smile, and it was quite devastating. "Then my first job as your husband is to distract you."
The word husband had me returning to my senses. I pushed against his chest and slipped from his lap, tugging at the sheet to keep it wrapped securely about me, but it was big and unwieldy and I fought the material.
"Distract me? You were trying to kiss me into forgetting that this marriage is all your fault!"
His lips formed a thin line. "Do you think I wanted to marry you?"
I shook my head. "No! You're the one who refused to give me my dress. You're the one who made it appear as if we'd done...things. That man," I pointed to the closed door, "thinks I'm a...a hussy!"
I was breathing hard now, and it wasn't from a kiss.
Mr. Easton had the gall to roll his eyes. "No, he doesn't. He probably thinks you're corruptible and I took advantage of you."
"You did!" I countered.
"Then we should at least make it worthwhile."
"How? How on earth can you make this mistake of a marriage worthwhile?"
"Kissing and then some."
WILEY
My life had gone awry the moment I'd taken on the case of finding the train robbers. The price on each of the men's heads was high enough to fund a retirement on my spread, but more importantly, could bring my father's killers to justice. While the Sinclair men were going to pay for their crimes, this Miss Carter woman needed to be found. I would not have any one of my father's killers roaming free.
It had taken months of investigating, traveling and questioning to end up in the shootout on the Sinclair ranch. I was used to leaving my property, but this time, I'd done it with extra focus and zeal. I was getting too old for chasing men and putting my life on the line, but my father's revenge came first. At thirty-two, it was time to settle down and a woman to share my bed. I just had to catch a wily and dangerous woman first.
I had not expected to obtain that woman—a Sinclair—by judicial decree. One minute I was fitfully asleep on the floor guarding a naked prisoner, ready to collect my reward money for all four of the Sinclairs and get the hell out of town, the next I was collecting a wife. A wife!
I'd been so focused on her guilt, that she was a prisoner and not a woman that I'd let proprieties slip. If the judge hadn't shown up early, perhaps the outcome was different, but no. He'd found us in a compromising way, yet absolutely nothing had happened. The irony of it was that I hadn't even touched the woman or enjoyed any of the actions to which I'd been accused—and found guilty.
I'd been stupid to take that damned bath and to make her remove her clothes, but since I believed her to be a criminal not a man, I assumed that since I was a bounty hunter it wouldn't have mattered. Piper had been a prisoner, not a woman! But my judgment was clouded, for even at the time I couldn't help but think of her as a woman, a very appealing, beautiful one. Clearly, I'd been wrong in my decision-making. I was married now to a woman who I'd thought was guilty up until a few minutes ago. The sheriff had said she was innocent. The circuit judge had said she was innocent, even had a different woman pinned with the crime.
I ran my hand over my face. God, I was shackled to a woman. I'd had no intention of ever being married. I was jaded to the institution and now I was not only wed against my wishes, but to a woman who was linked to a family of convicted murderers. I didn't have to like it. I didn't have to like her, but we would still be wed. No matter what I thought of her guilt or innocence, it wasn't going to change. So I should treat her as a wife, for the judge had legally joined us so I could do so. That meant I could strip her down and have my way with her, when I wanted, where I wanted and how I wanted.
Right now I wanted to rip that sheet out of her grip and see her lush body. I wanted to feel the weight of her breasts, watch as her nipples tighten as I played with them. I wanted to discover the color of her curls that covered her pussy. I wanted to feel the slick folds there, to feel how tight she was. I wanted to fuck her. My cock wanted Piper, not caring whether we barely knew each other or not.
There was only one thing standing in the way of making this happen. Piper.
She stood there staring at me as if I'd been delivered by the Devil himself to ruin her life. Perhaps I had.
"There's no way on God's green earth that you're going to kiss me again. Being married means nothing other than we're stuck with each other." She reached down and picked up her dress, shaking it out with more vigor than necessary. Searching the room, she found the remainder of her clothes in a pile in the corner. Holding it all tucked up against her chest, she opened the door.
"Where the hell do you think you're going dressed like that?"
She looked at me over her shoulder with those green eyes. "Now you're worried about me being naked? A little too late, don't you think?"
"You can't go out in the hallway in just a sheet!"
I stood to my full height and towered over her, but she didn't cower.
"Fine! Then you go out in the hall while I get dressed." She held the door wide for me to leave.
There was no reasoning with a riled woman, especially one wronged as greatly as Piper. My cock ached and I was downright cranky. I didn't want to be married to her either, but she didn't care. Hell, if she'd trapped me into marriage, I'd be downright livid. I couldn't blame her, but it didn't mean I didn't want her beneath me in a soft bed. Perhaps a day of riding would change her demeanor. I had no clue what else might do the trick.
"I will settle the bill, then we ride to Banning. If Miss Carter is to be found, we will start there."
"You want to bring her to justice?" Her pale brow went up. "With me in tow?"
"I want to bring the murderers to justice. All of them. They killed my father."
She gasped, clearly not aware who had been murdered or the depth of motivation for justice.
"And yes, I plan to do it with you in tow. The judge didn't offer me much choice. I assume you don't wish to watch your own family members die."
"Really? I saw you kill Bill."
I groaned my frustration. "Not everything that has happened is my fault. He shot at me. At you, too! What kind of brother puts his own sister in danger like that?"
She tugged the sheet up higher over her body and lifted her chin. "What bounty hunter puts a woman in front of him as a human shield?"
I could feel my blood starting to boil. How did this little slip of a woman build my ire unlike anyone I'd ever met before? I wanted her naked and compliant, not prickly as a cactus. She might be naked beneath the sheet, but I had absolutely no chance of stripping her down right now. An argument was no way to get her in an amorous mood. Hell, I wasn't in any kind of mood to fuck if we were going to continue to bicker. I ran my hand through my hair.
"Up until ten minutes ago, I thought you were just as guilty as your family."
Her chin tilted up but she kept her lips together in a firm line.
"You never answered my question. Do you want to see your brother and father hang?" I asked. The way she'd been upset by the knowledge of her family's demise, I assumed, but I did not know her mind. I could tell her answer by the way she paled and looked at the ground.
"Of course not. I never want to see them again. While th
ey admitted I had no part in their illegal actions, they used me and only admitted to it because they probably thought it would give them a lighter sentence."
That was probably true, but the judge didn't seem to offer lighter sentences to murderers.
"Good, then Banning it is."
***
We rode to Banning in silence, neither of us interested in speaking. What was there to say? We couldn't speak of the weather or ask after our families; both topics were obvious. We'd reached an impasse in the hotel room and I had no idea how to get past it. I was hoping time and a little distance from Zenith might help, but as the miles passed, it seemed not to be the case.
The town was larger than Zenith with a bustling economy due to being a stop on the train line. While still a distance from my ranch, my travels took me here frequently enough. It was my intention to pick up Miss Carter's trail here in town, track her down, arrest her and exact my revenge. Then I could settle into quiet ranch life with the reward money, but one last bounty, one last killer, stood in my way.
I'd had hours to formulate a plan and I hoped to visit the local saloons and brothels later in the evening to learn more about the woman. Fortunately, one of the people I intended to question later walked down the boardwalk and made my evening slightly easier. Or so I thought. Ethel Murbridge stopped us just down the block from the mercantile.
"Mr. Easton, it is delightful to make your acquaintance again," she replied sweetly.
Piper stiffened beside me as she took in the other woman. Ethel smiled and looked Piper over as if assessing a competitor. Ethel was the complete antithesis of my wife, with a lush figure and hair as black as night. While Piper's hair seemed to curl, Ethel's was sleek and straight. Piper offered no outward indication of any kind other than a slight tip of her head, but her fingers dug into my forearm like talons. The last time I'd made Ethel's acquaintance we were both naked and in the upstairs of one of the town's saloons. She was a lady of the night, but did not flaunt that fact while out and about. That did not mean Piper would not recognize her profession regardless.
