Defiant

by Smith, Bobbi

  But it couldn’t be.

  Not yet.

  Not until he’d brought the killers to justice.

  Rachel tried to console herself with the knowledge that Clint had professed his love for her. She told herself he was staying away from her to protect her, but those reminders did little to ease the pain and loneliness that overwhelmed her.

  “Rachel?” Anne whispered her daughter’s name as she opened the door to her room. She had thought she’d heard Rachel crying. “Are you all right?”

  Rachel looked up as her mother came in and closed the door behind her. “No,” she managed.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Anne went to sit beside her on the bed, just as she’d done since she was a little girl.

  “It’s my wedding night,” Rachel said in a tear-choked voice. “I should be with Clint. We should be together.”

  Anne embraced her.

  “I know, love. I know.” As Anne tried to soothe her, she remembered her own wedding night. It had been a night filled with great joy and love, with tenderness and passion. It had been a night she would never forget, and she knew that Rachel and Clint deserved no less.

  “I love him,” Rachel said miserably, “but I don’t know when we’ll ever get to be together again.”

  “You love him?” her mother repeated, drawing her attention.

  “Yes.” Rachel looked at her, a bit puzzled by her question.

  “Then what are you doing here?” she challenged her daughter and gave her daughter a conspiratorial smile.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean—your husband is waiting for you,” Anne said. She realized then how strange it was to speak of Rachel having a husband. “You should go to him.”

  Rachel brightened at her mother’s daring suggestion. “Do you really think I should?”

  “As long as you’re very careful and make sure to get back here before sunup.”

  Rachel threw her arms around her mother and kissed her cheek. “Thank you!”

  “Get Michelle to help you. She can sneak you into the hotel without anyone seeing you, can’t she?”

  “Oh, yes,” Rachel breathed in pure excitement.

  “Go on,” Anne urged, knowing that the beautiful, loving memories Clint and Rachel created this night would last them a lifetime. “Your husband’s waiting for you.”

  Michelle was still awake in her bedroom, sitting in bed reading an exciting dime novel when she heard someone tapping at her window. She put her book aside, went to the window, and was startled to find Rachel staring in at her. Michelle was afraid something was terribly wrong. Why else would her friend sneak over to her house? They hadn’t acted like this since they were children. She immediately opened the window.

  “What are you doing here?” Michelle whispered, looking nervously past Rachel to make sure she was alone.

  “I need your help,” Rachel said urgently.

  “What do you need?”

  “I need you to sneak me into Clint’s room at the hotel.”

  Michelle’s expression went from fearful concern to delight in an instant.

  “What a wonderful idea! But we’re going to have to be very quiet and very careful—for your sake,” Michelle told her.

  “I know.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Michelle asked, thinking how terrible it would be if anyone spotted Rachel sneaking into Clint’s room.

  “Oh, yes. I’m sure.”

  “Well, give me a minute to get dressed, and I’ll be right out.”

  Michelle was as good as her word. Within minutes, they were on their way to the hotel.

  “How are we going to do this?” Rachel asked. She realized if they knocked on Clint’s door, some people staying at the hotel might hear her.

  “I’ve got the master key. I’ll just let you into Clint’s room,” Michelle explained.

  “I hope I don’t scare him.”

  “He’ll be surprised, but I don’t think you’re going to scare him. I’ll bet you’re going to be the best surprise Clint’s ever had.”

  They moved quietly down the back alleyway. Fortunately, it was deserted. Michelle unlocked the back door of the hotel, and they slipped inside without anyone seeing them. There was no one stirring in the hotel either. Silently they crept up the rear staircase to the second floor, stopping outside Clint’s room.

  Clint had been lying in bed wide awake when he heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway. At first he thought nothing of it, but then he realized that whoever was out in the hall had stopped right at his door.

  Without making a sound, Clint got up and retrieved his gun. He didn’t know what was going on, but he had to be ready. It could be Ed coming after him for revenge. He backed into a corner of the darkened room and waited.

  At the sound of a key in the lock, Clint tensed even more. Gun in hand, he was ready for whatever trouble was coming his way.

  And then he heard Rachel’s voice as she said softly, “Thanks, Michelle.”

  Clint watched as the door quietly opened and Rachel slipped inside the room.

  Rachel closed the door behind her and tried to look around in the dark. She could see right away that the covers on the bed were thrown back and the bed was empty. For a moment, she was heart-broken, thinking Clint wasn’t there.

  “I must be dreaming,” Clint said.

  “Clint!” Rachel gasped as he emerged from the darkened corner holding his gun.

  “I thought you might be trouble,” he told her as he put his gun back in the holster.

  “I am,” she said with an enticing grin. She went straight into his arms.

  “But I like your kind of trouble.”

  Clint kissed her hungrily, wanting to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He was thrilled to have her with him.

  “Did anyone see you?” he asked, concerned when the kiss ended and they moved apart.

  “No. Michelle let me in the back door.”

  “She is one special lady.”

  “Yes, she is,” Rachel agreed. She owed her friend a lot for what she’d done tonight.

  “Are you sure you want to be here?” Clint asked as what little self-control he had was rapidly slipping away.

  He wanted Rachel.

  He was hungry for her.

  He loved her, but nothing was more important to him than her safety.

  “Oh, yes. I’m sure. This is our wedding night,” she whispered in a husky tone. “I couldn’t stay away. I had to be with you tonight.”

  At her words, the last bit of restraint he’d had disappeared. Clint didn’t waste any more time talking. He made sure the door was locked, so they would have the privacy they needed, and then turned to his bride and took her in his arms. He crushed her against him, his mouth covering hers in a devouring kiss that sparked the flames of their long-denied desire.

  Rachel responded without reserve. There was no need to deny herself the glory she found in his embrace.

  This was Clint—

  Her husband—

  Her love.

  Linking her arms around his neck, Rachel held Clint close and returned his kiss with abandon. When his lips left hers to press kisses down her neck, a shiver of sensual awareness trembled through her and she arched against the hard heat of him in an instinctive, age-old invitation.

  Clint responded immediately to that unspoken enticement. He claimed her lips once more in a deep kiss as his hands traced a seductive path to the buttons at the back of her gown. He unbuttoned the dress with the utmost care and stripped it from her.

  Standing before him clad only in her chemise, Rachel felt a bit nervous. She had never been so unclad with a man before, but when he came to her and took her back into his arms, all her concerns were instantly forgotten. Kiss after passionate kiss left her breathless and eager to know more of Clint’s exciting lovemaking.

  Clint felt her surrender and could no longer deny himself the perfection of her love. He lifted Rachel up in his arms and carried her to the bed to
lay her upon its welcoming softness. He stretched out beside her, glorying in the intimacy of the moment. His hungry, heated gaze swept over her silken curves.

  Rachel reached out to Clint and began to undo the buttons on his shirt, wanting to caress the broad, powerful width of his chest. She wanted no barrier between them.

  Clint helped her with the buttons and quickly took off his shirt. Rachel reached out to sculpt the hard-muscled expanse of his shoulders and back.

  The touch of her hands upon him aroused him to a fever pitch. He helped her take off the last of her undergarments and cast them aside to stare down at the perfection of her silken beauty. His gaze went over her slender curves in a heated caress, and he knew there would be no stopping now. He heard her gasp as his hands traced paths of fire over her shoulders and down to the fullness of her breasts.

  Clint kissed Rachel passionately as he continued to caress her. His lips left hers to explore her lush curves.

  Rachel moved restlessly against him as his every kiss and touch sent her senses spiraling out of control. She caressed his back and shoulders, thrilling to the strength of him, to the heat of him. Excitement pulsed deep within the womanly heart of her, and she knew she needed more.

  “Please, Clint,” she whispered, mindless in her passion. “I need you.”

  Her words broke the last thread of his self-control, and Clint could deny himself no longer. He drew away from her and shed the rest of his clothing.

  Rachel watched him undress. She had always known he was handsome, but seeing him this way only left her even more sure of just how perfect Clint was. His shoulders were broad and darkly tanned, his waist lean, his legs long and straight. He was powerfully built, and she wanted to be close to him—to be one with him.

  Rachel lifted her arms to Clint in a loving invitation, and he came to her.

  Clint moved over Rachel, his body a searing brand upon her silken flesh.

  Rachel gazed up at him, all the love she felt for him shining in her eyes. “I love you.”

  “And I love you,” he told her as he claimed her lips in a kiss of love and devotion that lifted their passion for one another to new heights.

  They came together in a blaze of glory. Clint moved slowly as he claimed Rachel for his own. He knew she was an innocent, and he wanted only to give her pleasure. With utmost care, he kissed and caressed her, bringing her to the peak of love’s desire before moving to make her his in all ways.

  Rachel was on fire with her need to be one with Clint. She held him close as he moved over her. She opened to him as a flower to the sun.

  Clint was the man she loved—her husband.

  As he made her his own, she gasped and clung to him, delighting in his possession, thrilling at being one with him. When Clint began to move within her, she instinctively matched him in that sensual, loving rhythm.

  They soared to the heights of passion, needing to be one, wanting to be one.

  The ecstasy of Clint’s kiss and touch swept Rachel away, and she cried out softly as they reached the peak of rapture together.

  They were one.

  Wrapped in each other’s arms, they clung together in the glow of love’s aftermath, treasuring the union they’d just shared.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “What the hell did you think you were doing?” the Boss demanded of Tuck as he met with him, alone, late that night on the outskirts of Dry Springs.

  “We thought you’d be impressed if we pulled off a bonus job and brought in a little extra money. We were just having some fun, and we wanted to let you know we were here, that’s all,” Tuck told him.

  “You call getting Holt killed fun? And you didn’t even end up with the money!” he snarled. “You acted like a gang of incompetent fools!”

  “It won’t happen again,” Tuck assured him. He knew how ugly the Boss could get if things didn’t go his way, and he had no desire to challenge him.

  “You’re damned right it won’t! If it does, you’re dead. Do you understand me?” The Boss pinned Tuck with a lethal glare. He’d let it be known from the beginning that anyone who tried to cross him was a dead man.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Now here’s your next job. There’s an Army payroll shipment coming through the area in four days. It’s a big one. Where do we stand?”

  “Right now, it’s tight.”

  “What do you mean, it’s tight?”

  “Rick’s dead, and Sanders hasn’t shown up.”

  The Boss cursed under his breath at the news. “Where the hell is Sanders?”

  “I don’t know. We haven’t heard a word from him.”

  “So there’s just the three of you?”

  “So far.”

  “What do you think happened to him?”

  “It’s not like him to be late, so it must be serious—whatever it is.”

  “Then we can’t count on him showing up at all,” the Boss said in disgust, “and it won’t be easy bringing in this payroll with only you, Ax, and Walt.” He was angry over the complications. He’d wanted the robbery to go off without a hitch. “Wait a minute—I’ve got an idea.”

  “What?”

  “Have you ever heard of Kane McCullough?”

  “Yeah, there was talk about him in the last town we were in,” Tuck told him. “From what was being said, McCullough sounds like a mean bastard. Why?”

  “He’s here in Dry Springs.”

  Tuck was surprised. “What’s he doing here?”

  “Who the hell cares? The point is, he’s here, and he might be just the man you need to pull this job off. He’s been spending a lot of time at the Last Chance, drinking and gambling, so he may be waiting for a job like this to come along. Go talk to him. If he’s as fast with a gun as his reputation says, he should fit right in.”

  “I’ll do it.”

  “I’ll meet you back here in two days. We can make the final plans then.”

  Tuck watched the Boss ride away; then he mounted up and returned to the place where the going had made camp. As he rode in, he wasn’t surprised to find that Ax and Walt were still up, sitting by the campfire waiting for him.

  “How did it go?” Ax asked as Tuck sat down with them.

  Tuck quickly told them about the next job coming up.

  “That sounds damned good,” Walt said with a big grin. He liked robbing payrolls. The Boss was always generous when they brought in a big haul.

  “There’s only one problem. He thinks we need another man with us, since Sanders hasn’t shown up.”

  “Did he have any ideas?” Ax asked.

  “Yeah. Evidently that gunfighter named Kane McCullough has been hanging around Dry Springs, and the Boss thinks he’d be a good one to use.”

  “But we don’t know much about him,” Walt pointed out.

  “We know he’s fast with a gun,” Tuck said, “and that seems to be good enough for the Boss.”

  “How we gonna do it?”

  “I thought we could ride into Dry Springs tomorrow and have ourselves a good old time at the Last Chance. From what I understand, they got some real fine lookers working there, and I could use a little loving right about now.”

  “It’s a damned shame we ain’t in town tonight,” Ax said.

  They all agreed with his sentiments and bedded down for the night. They had a lot to do the following day if they were going to try to recruit McCullough to ride with them on their next job. It had to be handled carefully. They couldn’t reveal too much to him without knowing he would be working with them and could be trusted.

  Clint rose up on one elbow to stare down at Rachel as she lay nestled against him. His gaze went over her, taking in the tumble of her dark curls on the pillow and the classic elegance of her features as she lay with her eyes closed. His gaze moved lower, visually caressing her as he relived the glory of their lovemaking a short time before. Unable to resist, he leaned over her to steal a soft kiss.

  At the touch of Clint’s lips, Rachel stirred and opened her eyes. S
he looped her arms around his neck and met him in that sweet exchange. She held him close as they deepened the kiss.

  This time there was no holding back. They had only a few hours left to be together, and they wanted to share the beauty of their love for as long as they could.

  They came together in a blaze of passion and desire. With heated caresses, they stoked the fire of their need until, caught up in the searing ecstasy of their embrace, they found love’s glory.

  “You are so wonderful—” Rachel breathed. She was in awe of the perfection of their loving. She had never known such ecstasy as she found in his arms.

  “So are you,” Clint murmured against her lips, kissing her again. “If I had my way, we’d stay here forever.”

  Rachel gave a throaty chuckle. “I like the way you think, but my parents might come looking for us.”

  “We’re married,” he told her in a husky voice as he rose up over her to look down at her.

  She gave him a slow, sensuous smile as she lifted one hand to caress his cheek. “Yes, we are.”

  Clint pressed a cherishing kiss to the palm of her hand, thankful for the love and peace he found in her embrace. He hadn’t believed he could ever be this happy again. He hadn’t believed he would ever have a life after what had happened, but now, with Rachel, he knew there was a future for them—once he finished what he’d come there to do.

  “I love you, Rachel.”

  “Show me,” she whispered, reaching up to draw him down to her.

  And Clint did show her.

  It was much later when Rachel left Clint’s embrace and began to dress. She looked over to where he still lay on the bed and marveled at how handsome he was. His lean jawline was shadowed now by a day’s growth. The blanket covered him just to the waist, but the sight of his hard-muscled chest and powerful shoulders and arms left her breathless. She had just been in his arms, crushed against his chest, and it had been heavenly.

  Rachel realized Clint was watching her, and she blushed at the direction of her thoughts. She was glad he couldn’t see her face clearly in the darkness.

  Clint had not wanted to let her leave his bed, let alone leave the room tonight, but they had no choice. There could be no denying the danger he faced, and he wanted her safe with her parents.