Now Jed received Hannah’s icy stare.
“Jacob had no choice. He had to go, or lose everything.”
Remembering Hannah’s earlier meeting with McCabe, Luke said, “Seems like he’s done that anyway.”
“No, he hasn’t,” she hit back quickly. “He’s still got another four, no, three days before he calls in the debt.” Despite the stubbornness in her tone, a tremor vibrated at the back of her throat. Luke sensed her fear that she was another day closer to her impending fate.
“And how long has he been gone?” He, now, watched her swallow hard, trying her best to be brave. Again, fear seemed to emanate from every pore.
“Nearly a year,” she said quietly. Her earlier defiance seemed to be dissipating fast.
“Hmm! Cutting things a bit fine then?” Jed said ironically, as he joined in the conversation.
Luke watched Hannah’s reaction. He, now, saw despair lurking behind her tough facade. Clearly, the woman was in big trouble, and, he quickly decided, he wasn’t going to skirt around the subject any longer. He sensed her panic that Jacob wasn’t going to make it back, after all. It was time for an answer.
“So, what’s this deal you’ve made with McCabe?” he asked gently.
On the journey back to the ranch, their conversation had veered in the general direction of his work on the cattle drive and the more mundane task of organizing his bath and fresh clothes. She’d deliberately steered clear of any reference to the incident with McCabe once she’d thanked him for his help. Now, he wanted to know. How else would he be able to help her? It seemed it was long overdue for someone to take the wind out of McCabe’s sails.
“My deal has nothing to do with either of you,” she stated coolly. She dropped her fork onto her plate. “You’re just passing through. You’ll be gone in the morning and Jacob will be back before McCabe has a chance to call it in.”
“From what I saw earlier, it seems he’s anticipating calling it in early,” Luke replied, gently. If he couldn’t browbeat an answer out of her, then he’d try it in a calm, persuasive voice. She’d tried to sound convincing but she didn’t fool Luke. Her voice was full of dread and apprehension. “It also seems that no one in town is prepared to stand up to him, including this Jacob of yours, judging by the length of time he’s been away.”
Luke watched her work her jaw and then clamp her teeth tightly together. As she drew in a long, noisy breath, her nostrils flared. Screwing her fingers into tight fists, her knuckles went white against the dark tabletop. “I’ve just told you. It’s none of your damned business.” She spoke her words clipped and short. They were full of venom.
She sprang to her feet. Her chair clattered noisily backward onto the floor. She stood for a moment glaring down at the pair of them. Then, with six purposeful strides, she made her exit through the outside door and stomped noisily down the wooden steps from the veranda onto the baked earth below.
The two brothers exchanged looks of concern. Jed nodded silently for Luke to follow after her. Luke knew Jed was right. After getting her all fired up like that, it was up to him to sort things out and get a straight answer. It certainly puzzled him. There was obviously no love lost between Hannah and this McCabe, so why should she be willing to go to the slaughter for something another man was responsible for?
He shook his head as he set off in pursuit.
Women.
Why were they always so damn difficult to fathom?
Chapter Twelve
The light faded fast. Night chased the remainder of day across the sky and pinned it against the horizon. Just a thin strip of blue and pink lingered.
Luke made out Hannah’s silhouette by the corral. Her shoulders were hunched and her hands covered her face. A horse harrumphed and snuffled over her. She was crying. But it wasn’t full-wail crying, the sort that Rose had done when he’d exposed her plans to trap Jed into a sham of a marriage. No, this was silent crying. Not a sound escaped her lips, but tears coursed down her cheeks. They trickled into the corners of her mouth and dripped from her chin.
He turned her and gently folded her into his arms. She felt so tiny and frail against his hard body, and, as she laid her head against him, her hot, wet cheek burned its imprint through his shirt and onto his chest. He hated it when women cried. Usually, he could never tell whether it was genuine or on purpose. But this time he did know, and it made him feel so helpless that he couldn’t help her.
She melted into his arms and, for a few seconds, her body relaxed a little against him. He hugged her gently, wishing he could shut out her problems. But the reality was, he couldn’t. No amount of comfort he offered was enough to make her forget her impending fate. He needed her to tell him what was wrong, and, as she drew in a shuddery breath and stepped out of the comfort zone he offered her, he wasn’t going to be shrugged off again. As she roughly rubbed the offending tears away with her bare hands, he pursued his interrogation.
“I’m sorry if it seems like I’m prying but this afternoon it seemed like you needed a friend.” He caught her chin tenderly between fingers and thumb, raising her face to look at him. “Something tells me you still do.”
Fresh tears welled up at his friendly gesture. They pooled in the corners of her eyes and sat along her lower lids. They glistened like diamonds in the silvery moonlight and he had to fight the urge to kiss them away. The battle raging within her was plain for anyone to see.
“I’m also sorry for earlier,” he said, and meant it. “Jed and I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you. It may be hard to believe, but we’re not all like McCabe. We do respect women.”
“Don’t be sorry.” A wan smile broke the unhappy curve of her mouth. “It was entirely my fault. I do have needs and I’m glad it was you and Jed who—” She stopped mid-sentence, as if suddenly a little embarrassed by her frank admission.
Luke’s heart gave a little squeeze and he returned her smile with a reassuring one of his own.
“In fact, it was good,” she continued. She still looked a little awkward but she finally managed a bigger smile. “And, although I’m sure Jacob will be back in time, if McCabe does end up calling in his debt, at least it will be something good to remember you both by.”
Looking down at her brave face, Luke wasn’t sure he only wanted to be a pleasant memory. With only three days left, no way would this man be coming back home. She was deluding herself. He grasped her shoulders more tightly.
“So, let me help you. Tell me what it’s all about and I’ll get McCabe to release you from your bargain.”
Chapter Thirteen
Hope, which had been Hannah’s companion for so long, now deserted her. She’d been strong for so long, and Luke’s kind words finally tipped her over the edge. Feeling McCabe’s hands pawing her had stirred up every dark thought and awful dread of what would become of her. He wouldn’t be as considerate of her feelings as the cowboy standing before her. McCabe had told her on numerous occasions what he would do to her body and that, when he’d finished with her, he’d give her to his men. That vile bunch of cowboys he called his employees.
Hannah clenched her teeth to steady the muscles in her jaw. She raised her eyes to meet Luke’s as her back stiffened a little. Oh, how his words tempted her. But what could he do? She’d made a promise.
Swallowing hard, she took a deep breath to help stem a fresh flow of tears. This didn’t help her at all. Luke looked far too concerned for someone she’d only just met, and to whom she’d given her body so freely, and so wantonly, only a short while earlier. Why was he bothering? In fact, why were he and his brother still here? According to her mother, after taking their pleasure, shouldn’t they have left and not stuck around wanting to know her business? She inhaled deeply again, hoping he wouldn’t hear the slight tremor that trembled in her throat once more. She needed to stand on her own two feet. It was her battle not his, but as Luke placed a hand on each of her shoulders, he looked her straight in the eye and all resolve began to crumble. She inhaled deeply to s
teady her nerves.
“Then I shall be indebted to you and I have no wish to be indebted to anyone again.”
First her father’s creditors and then Jacob’s. Why hadn’t she listened to her heart and followed her brother to California instead of playing the docile, little woman and obeying his instructions to wait here until he returned?
Except, she had listened to her heart. At least, she’d thought that back then. Jacob had needed to add little pressure or persuasion to keep her here. One look at his dark, chocolate brown eyes, framed with beautiful long lashes, and any strong will and perseverance she had totally melted away.
At first, she tried telling herself that it was his gentle manner that had drawn her to him. After weeks of traveling over such inhospitable country, she was tired and needed a rest from her journey. But it wasn’t true. The excitement of life here fizzed hotly through her veins. Finally, she could be herself, uncluttered and free while the raw sexuality of the man awoke a sleeping dragon in her. Jacob sparked her sexuality into life with just a mere touch. A brush of their fingertips or a stolen glance lit the fire and sent sparks flying. She thought she loved him. That was the reason she’d stayed and not followed her brother.
At first, Jacob had resisted her advances. He respected her brother and didn’t want to dishonor his little sister. However, Hannah had other ideas. Her body ached for the nearness of this man and, in the end, he’d needed little persuasion, although he always made certain he never gave her a baby.
Hannah marveled at his will power. She recalled how he would hold himself inside her, telling her not to move, or even twitch. Afterward, he would slide quickly from her and spurt his juices over her naked flesh. Only once had she resorted to the douching her mother had told her about. He’d been so ashamed that he’d not had the strength of will to protect her himself. But Hannah wasn’t. She was glad. She’d wanted him to feel the same overwhelming pleasure that she did when she orgasmed so spectacularly around his hard cock as it stroked up and down inside her slick passage.
Because of that, he also taught her other ways that men and women could pleasure each other—with their mouths. She’d been a little shy at first but, when her body erupted and convulsed against his soft lips and warm lapping tongue, she was glad she’d listened to his gentle, supportive tutoring. Addicted to these carnal pleasures, Hannah loved nothing more than to spend time alone with him. He’d alternately nibble at the tiny little bud at the junction of her thighs and lap at her aching cunny. Her body would tingle and ripple all the way down from the hairs on her head to her toes.
The first time she took him fully in her mouth, she was afraid she wouldn’t know what to do. But she followed his instructions and swirled her tongue around the swollen head as she flicked the ridge beneath with its tip. Receiving the gush of creamy liquid into her throat, while he’d spasmed against her, was so completely erotic, she knew she’d be performing such an act over and over again, not only because it prevented the threat of pregnancy but because she loved the sheer, base, wanton act. She couldn’t get enough of it. Jacob would bring her to the peak of satisfaction and, afterward, she’d finish pleasuring him while tasting her own juices on his thick cock.
Her mother would have cringed and died of shame if she’d known. She’d have called her a whore for the way she behaved but she no longer cared. When she was with Jacob, her body became a vessel for every lustful thought and desire that assembled in her being. She was a woman of strong, sensual needs, although she knew it would never be like that with any man. With some, she only experienced friendship while men, like Ethan McCabe and his side-kicks, turned her blood to ice.
Confusion still clouded her mind. Why should this happen to her now? Why did these two strangers fire her blood in the same way? How could she ache so much for physical contact with the man standing before her, as well as his big, rough brother, sitting inside her home, stuffing his face with her cooking?
Suddenly, the thought of food, and Luke and Jed, chased the dark ones away. If only for a while, she could let herself forget what she would soon become: a harlot pleasuring men for the rest of her life.
She cast Luke a wan smile.
“Let’s go back inside and finish our meal before your brother eats it all. He’s got a big frame to fill.”
Again, the memory of the big man’s hands on her body while he’d thrust roughly inside her, sent a fresh shiver of pleasure coursing through her, as did the gentle hand guiding her into the house once more. She may not be happy about her fate but she’d enjoy every moment she had left to her before she fell into McCabe’s evil hands.
Chapter Fourteen
Jed glanced from one to another. Hannah’s eyes were still wet but Luke looked as though he’d diffused the situation.
“At least you’ve given the food chance to cool,” he said gruffly as they sat at the table once more. It sounded banal but he didn’t want the conversation to die altogether. He gave a throaty chuckle. “I’ll be biting down on blisters for the rest of the night. It’s so tasty. I couldn’t help shoveling it into my mouth. Hope you don’t mind but I’ve already helped myself to seconds. I’d forgotten how good a woman’s cooking can be.”
As Hannah too gave a short laugh, he noticed her quick exchange of looks with Luke who also grinned.
“What?” Jed asked, aware he wasn’t in on the joke.
“I said we needed to get back inside before you ate it all up,” Hannah teased. “I see you have a big appetite that needs filling. And call me Hannah, not ma’am. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Now that I’m not sure of,” Jed replied. “If we were friends, you’d be telling us your problems. What it is that McCabe wants and why you’ve been left here to fend for yourself all on your lonesome. He means to make you his whore. That’s what this deal’s all about, ain’t it?”
Nothing much got past Jed. Listening to Luke’s description of the way McCabe treated Hannah, groping her in full view of the townsfolk, who’d just melted away into the safety of their homes and not lifted a finger to help, angered him. Jed enjoyed the company of women and the pleasure he got from them, but what McCabe had done was downright disgraceful. Once he’d learned the full story, he was only sorry he’d not put his fist into his smirking face, too, or better still, his boot in his balls.
The two whores had also filled him in on all McCabe’s carryings-on as they fussed around him, tending his cuts and bruises, and helping him into the tub again. They told him Jacob hadn’t been home in nearly a year and that, because of McCabe’s obsession with Hannah, the man would probably never do so again. Jed felt sorry for the woman.
He watched her move the meat and vegetables around silently on her plate and stab a piece of beef with her fork. For a moment, she looked at it thoughtfully before popping it into her mouth. As she closed her succulent lips around the juicy morsel, Jed regarded her mouth with close interest, wondering how they’d feel wrapped around his manhood, sucking and plundering its sensitive tip with that pink little tongue that was doing such a good job of rolling the food around inside her mouth. She was a damn fine woman and he found it wholly erotic when a woman wanted a man for her own delight, just as she had earlier, and not just to please or entrap him.
Nevertheless, his previous thoughts held sway. She might have much to offer a man, but no man should ever use a woman against her will.
She lifted her face to meet his gaze and Luke’s. She tilted her chin almost defiantly. Nonetheless, her voice remained soft and calm as she spoke. “I made a deal with him. It was the only way to keep McCabe at bay until Jacob gets back. If I hadn’t suggested it, he would have taken the land, the house, the lot. Jacob has a year to get the money, including interest, to pay McCabe what he owes. If Jacob doesn’t make it back, well, McCabe wins anyway. He still gets everything, including interest. Except that I’m the interest.”
Jed’s eyes darkened. Something raked across his heart, drawing anger that Hannah should find herself in such a positio
n.
“What sort of man makes a deal like that with a no-good whoremonger?” he raged. “Letting a woman settle his debt. He should be ashamed.”
“He didn’t make the deal,” Hannah defended him. “I did. That’s how much faith I have in him. I know he won’t leave me to McCabe’s clutches. And the debts aren’t his. They’re his father’s.”
Jed frowned. The woman must be mad but he wasn’t about to say anything yet. He caught Luke’s eye and they both turned to Hannah and watched her closely, intent on hearing the full story. After a short pause, she obliged and began.
* * * *
She told how, when she first arrived, looking for her brother, William had already moved on. But, knowing her the way he did, he’d asked Jacob and his father to look out for her and keep her here with them. Where he was going, to pan for gold out in California, was no place for a decent woman. They had to try to persuade her to return home, to their mother and sisters, to await his return. If they couldn’t, they were to make her stay until he got back.
However, in all the time she’d been here, William had sent only one letter. He told her life was rough and hard but that he was doing well. He moved around a lot, trying to find the best spots, so it wasn’t an invitation to join him. He told her that women were there for one reason only and that was to fill the brothels and pleasure the glut of men out there, trying to make their fortunes. After that, no more arrived and she could only wonder as to his fate and hope he was well.
Hannah found it hard to begin with, staying on with Jacob and his father. However, it didn’t take her long to realize, that after the soft life of a city-dweller she’d led back home, this was where she belonged. The only blot on the landscape was Jacob’s father’s drinking and gambling. He’d always had a weakness for both, especially since his wife’s death. Now he began to spend more and more time in town and in the saloon.
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