A Touch in Time

by McKenna Chase

  “For calling me a whore,” she said, her eyes misting over with tears.

  He dropped his head back onto the pillow, waiting for the pain to ease. “If you so much as flinch,” he warned, his breathing ragged, “I’ll drag your pretty little ass outside and tie you to the fence – naked!”

  Thankfully, she obeyed. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk much less carry out his threat if she hadn’t. Shoving a hand back through his hair, he tried to make some sort of sense out of her reaction. She was a whore. Why would his calling her one send her into a tearful rage?

  Before he could ask, a loud buzzing filled the room. Jake clamored to the foot of the bed to grab his gun.

  “Don’t you dare shoot my purse!” his captive exclaimed as he swung his gun toward the nightstand. “I saved for months to buy that bag.”

  His gaze narrowed as the teeth-grating noise continued. “What the hell?”

  “If you’ll untie me,” she said, “I’ll make it stop.”

  She’d done enough damage while tied to his bed. He’d be damned if he was letting the little hellcat loose to do more. Instead, he emptied the bag on the nightstand and grabbed for the small, vibrating pink box.

  Shoving it into her bound hands, he said, “Make it stop or I will.”

  Ass and bastard were just two of several curses she flung his way as she worked the box open. A second later, the infernal racket ceased.

  “What is that?” he demanded.

  “My cell phone. The alarm actually.” Her explanation was followed by a sharp gasp. “Why didn’t I think of it before?”

  “What?”

  “I can prove that I’m from the future.” She flipped the box open again tapped on the piece of glass inside. Then she turned it in her bound hand for him to see.

  There was a picture of Brianna with another female. Both were wearing silver crowns with the words HAPPY NEW YEAR! written across them.

  “That’s Marissa and me.” She tapped the glass with her thumb and the picture came alive.

  “What the...” He snatched it from her grasp, watching in disbelief.

  “That’s a video. Phones in my time have the ability to capture moments as they happen.”

  His gut clenched. She’d been telling him the truth. How else could he explain what he was seeing with his own eyes?

  “Deke didn’t send you,” he said, meeting her gaze.

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

  “Hell,” he muttered as he moved to untie her hands. He wasn’t sure how to react to the truth now that he had it. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “I’m sorry for being an ass would be a good place to start,” she suggested as the ropes fell away.

  Damn she was pretty. Even when she was spittin’ mad. And she was most definitely that. Not that he blamed her. He’d spent the entire night using her body in an attempt to get information from her on a man she didn’t even know. Using her like the whore he thought she was. Hell.

  “Brianna, if I had known...”

  She looked up, the anger leaving her eyes. “If you had known, you wouldn’t have touched me.”

  Unlike Deke, he didn’t lie. “That’s not true. I wanted to fuck you last night. Deke’s whore or not.” He reached out to twine a strand red-gold strand around his finger. “Only I wouldn’t have taken you so hard. And I wouldn’t have done it with you tied to my bed.”

  “I liked it hard,” she admitted, her sassy grin returning. “And being tied to your bed had its perks.” Her bold gaze settled on his cock, making it stir against his thigh.

  Despite her admission, he couldn’t touch her again. He moved to dress before he surrendered to his need to take her again. If Deke hadn’t sent Brianna, her life was in danger. At least it was as long as she was there at the ranch with him.

  “Gather up your clothes,” he ordered. “I’m taking you into town.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said with a stubborn tilt of her chin as she slid from his bed. “My only chance of getting back to where I came from is staying here where I landed.”

  “You don’t have a choice,” he told her as he slung his gunbelt around his lean hips and hurried to buckle it.

  “What gives you the right-”

  He turned to her, his expression hard. “I used to be a Texas Ranger which makes me a target for every outlaw I pissed off over the years. One in particular.”

  “Deke?”

  He nodded. “And he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you to get to me. You can’t stay.” He walked over to the nightstand and began shoving her things back into her bag. He wasn’t sure where he was gonna take her, only that it had to be far away from him.

  A small, black cylinder caught his eye and he held it up for closer inspection.

  “Jake, no!” Brianna cried out behind him.

  His eyes were on fire.

  “Oh my God, Jake,” Brianna exclaimed as she ripped the cylinder from his hand.

  “Can’t breathe,” he gasped. Couldn’t see either for that matter.

  “Whatever you do, don’t rub your eyes. It’ll only make the stinging worse.”

  He muttered a curse.

  Water sloshed around in the basin beside him. A second later, the cloth he’d used on Brianna the night before came to rest atop his closed, throbbing eyes.

  “It’ll go away in a little while,” she assured him.

  Hot tears pushed their way out from beneath his closed lids. Hell, even his nose was running. “Feels like someone stuck hot peppers in my eyes.”

  “That’s because it’s pepper spray. Jake,” she groaned, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Feeling bad enough to shoot me right now and put me out of my misery?”

  “I don’t know how to shoot a gun.”

  “I reckon I should thank the Lord for that. You’re dangerous enough armed with just a purse.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Jake?” The bedroom door creaked open. “Are you awake?”

  “Yep.” He was, but he’d be damned if he was gonna open his eyes just yet. Even if the voice calling out to him was all soft and female and belonged to a woman with the face of an angel.

  She crossed the room and settled onto the edge of the bed beside him. Brianna’s sweet scent drifted past him, stirring his senses.

  “You come to finish the job?” he muttered.

  “I tried to warn you.”

  He nodded. “I know.”

  Her hand touched his face. “Does it still burn?”

  “Not like it had been.” He managed a half-smile. “That'll teach me to keep a tighter rein on my curiosity in the future. What the hell were you doing carrying something that dangerous around with you?”

  “A lot of women from my time carry pepper spray for protection. It supposed to temporarily blind an attacker so the victim can get away.”

  “I can vouch for the blinding part,” he replied, forcing his bloodshot eyes open.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  He reached up and caught her wrist. “If you’re offering...” He traced the inside of her wrist with his thumb. “A kiss might make me feel a whole lot better.” Her pulse leapt to life beneath his touch.

  Brianna leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. A soft, teasing kiss that made him want more. A lot more.

  He dragged her onto the bed with him, threading his fingers through her hair as he took control of her mouth.

  She welcomed his seeking tongue with a needy whimper.

  Clutching her ass, he ground his burgeoning erection against her.

  “Why couldn’t there be more men like you in my time?” she groaned.

  Her words hit him like a bucket of icy water. He wanted her like he’d never wanted a woman before, but he had to think of Brianna. Had to get control of his desire and focus on getting her away from the ranch before it was too late.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe you did that,” Jake grumbled with a snap of the wagon’s reins. “I’m
lucky those women back there didn’t shoot me on the spot for trying to ‘desert’ my wife for her lack of sewing skills!”

  Brianna muffled a giggle. “Sorry, the sewing bit was the first thing to come to mind.”

  “Gawddamnit, Brianna, I don’t care about the sewing part. You told them we were married. What the hell were you thinking?” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

  “I said I was sorry.”

  He glanced her way with a muttered curse. Damn her for looking so sexy in his oversized clothes. Clothes he’d made her wear because the ones she’d arrived in would draw too much attention her way. To her tanned skin and perfectly rounded breasts. And to that tiny little jewel that dangled like an exotic lure over her navel. She was a distraction he couldn’t afford.

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he said with a sigh.

  She flashed him a sugary sweet smile that threatened to crumble his resolve. “Made you angry with me?”

  “You’re damn right, but that’s nothing compared to what Deke will do to you when he learns I’ve taken a ‘wife’.” He dragged a hand down his face. “Fuck.”

  “Why would he want to hurt me? He doesn’t even know me.”

  “Your being with me makes you a target,” he said, his jaw clenching. “The Johnson brothers murdered a family of five in Texas and then burned down a nearby church. I caught up to them in Kansas and there was a gunfight. I killed Bart Johnson.”

  “Deke’s brother,” she said, her amber eyes studying him.

  He nodded. “Deke got away. A year ago, he set me up with the help of a lying whore and it damn near cost me my life.”

  “No wonder you were so angry when you thought he had sent me to the ranch.” She reached out to touch the scar that ran along his cheek. “Did he do this?”

  “He was going for my throat.” Thankfully, he’d had enough strength left after having been beaten and stabbed twice to twist away from the final thrust of his blade.

  She looked ready to cry.

  “Don’t,” he told her. “I don’t want your pity, Brianna. I just need you to understand how dangerous this situation is. Deke is coming for me.”

  “Then you should leave.”

  “I’m not running,” he said angrily. “Hell, I’m waiting for the bastard to come for me. One way or another it’ll be over. And I don’t want you here when that happens.”

  Her smile faltered. “I didn’t know. I never meant to cause you more trouble. I just wanted to stay at the ranch – with you.”

  His expression softened. He hadn’t meant to be so hard on her, but she had to know how serious the situation was. “Darlin’,” he said, dragging her up against him, “trouble should be your middle name.” He covered her mouth with his, doing what he’d ached to do since she’d walked out of his bedroom with his clothes, rolled and cuffed, lying against those sweet womanly curves.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, her tongue sweeping into his mouth. Lord help him, but he liked this modern day female. Her spunk. Her determination. And, most of all, the depth of her passion that she wasn’t the least bit afraid to share with him.

  “We need to get home,” he said with a groan. When what he really wanted to do was rip his clothes from her body and take her hard in the back of the wagon, shoving his hard, pulsing cock into the tight sheathe of her pussy.

  As if sensing his need, Brianna turned, her fingers working to free his rigid flesh from the confines of his jeans.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice hoarse with desire.

  “Making up for nearly getting you shot in town,” she answered with a grin as her fingers curled around his cock.

  The muscles in his thighs went rock hard and his head dropped back with a groan. “Damn.”

  “Is that damn in a good way?” she asked as she stroked his steely length. “Or a bad way?”

  Before he could reply, she lowered her head and ran the tip of her tongue over the head of his cock.

  “Good,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Definitely good.”

  She took him deep in her mouth, her long hair spreading across his thighs like a curtain of silk.

  He buried his fingers in those long, silken strands, his hips bucking. “Brianna...”

  “That’s right, Jake,” she said, her breath caressing his straining flesh. “I want you to know who’s fucking you with her mouth.”

  And she did. Fast. Hard. Sucking him like he’d never been sucked before.

  To hell with getting back to the ranch anytime soon. Dropping the reins, he thrust into her sweet mouth once more and then lifted her away until she stood between his parted thighs. The horses knew their way home.

  “Take your pants off,” he rasped.

  “They’re yours,” she reminded him saucily.

  “So are you,” he muttered as he yanked the too-big pants down and thrust a finger inside her.

  Brianna cried out, her thighs clenching against his hand.

  “So wet.” He drew her to him and helped her shake a leg free of his pants. Then he groaned as she moved to straddle him, the head of his erection pressed snugly against her bare bottom. Blood roared through his veins.

  She moved against him like a cat in heat. Rubbing. Purring.

  Grabbing onto her hips, he lifted her and then lowered her onto his throbbing cock before he shocked the hell out of her by pushing into her sweet ass instead.

  “Jake,” she gasped, clutching his face between her hands.

  He looked up at her. “Darlin’.”

  She captured his mouth with her perfect lips, her tongue thrusting in with the same fervor as his cock as it pumped into her slick channel.

  The jarring of the wagon, its seat bouncing roughly beneath them as its wheels rolled over ruts in the road, only added to the pleasure.

  “Jake,” she whimpered, her body tensing.

  “Don’t fight it, darlin’. I wanna feel your pussy pulsing around me, milking the juice from my cock.”

  She rode him harder, her head thrown back. Her body tensed, shuddered and the Brianna cried out, shattering the silence around them as she went over the edge.

  Jake followed right behind. Bracing her hips as he emptied himself into her quivering pussy.

  * * *

  “I really do know how to sew,” Brianna announced as they pulled up to the cabin.

  “What?”

  “In case you were wondering,” she added. “So if you have anything that needs mending I’d be happy to take care of it for you while I’m here. It’s the least I can do.”

  Jake fought to contain the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. “That so? Well, seeing as how you’re my ‘wife’ now, I’ll be expecting you to do the cooking and laundry as well.” That would teach her for putting them both in this position.

  “You what?”

  “Now that those women back there think I’ve taken myself a wife, one I might be tossing aside because of her lack of sewing skills, you can bet your pretty little backside they’ll be out to pay you a visit.”

  “They don’t even know me.”

  “They’re females. Sticking their noses into other folks business is what they do.”

  “Hey!” she said, planting her hands on her waist. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a female.”

  “Not a chance in hell I’d forget that fact,” he replied with a husky chuckle. “Now get your sweet little ass inside and make me some dinner while I see to the horses – wife.”

  Brianna watched him drive away to the barn, her body humming. She’d cook him up dinner alright and she’d be the dessert.

  Jake was unlike any man she’d ever dated. He made her feel confident and sexy and thoroughly satisfied, something Alex had never managed to do.

  Marissa would be so jealous. Not that her best friend’s love life was lacking, but who wouldn’t envy any woman that had experienced Jake’s hands caressing her, his mouth tasting her, his long, thick cock pumping into her.<
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  Hurrying into the cabin, she made a beeline for the bedroom where she took off Jake’s pants and flannel shirt and pulled on one of his lightweight shirts. It hung long enough for her to go commando which would help keep her cool while cooking.

  When she was done changing, she made her way to the kitchen which was part of one large room that was half eating area, half sitting area. A small wooden table flanked by two rocking chairs sat in front of the fireplace. The cabin was small but cozy.

  She worked her way through the cupboards, trying to find something to make for her new ‘husband’. There were no easy fix dinner packages or microwave meals. Damn, she was going to have to make something from scratch and cooking was most definitely not her forte. But Jake was worth the effort.

  She found some flour and baking soda and salt and mixed it together. Then she added water just as she did when she made her biscuits-from-a-box at home. She blew a strand of hair from her face as she struggled to stir the thickened mixture.

  The cabin door swung open and she turned to find Jake standing in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the space.

  “Now if that ain’t a pretty sight,” he said with a low whistle as his gaze zeroed in on her bare legs.

  “Don’t distract me, husband, I have work to do,” she said with a grin, turning her attention back to the gooey mixture she was spooning onto a baking tray. But her thoughts remained on the man behind her. How he made her ache just watching her as he was now. How he made her pulse quicken and her heart race. Made her pussy damp.