“You’re kin,” Sarah said, “and that is the end of it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Amanda chuckled.
Caleb slanted a look at Sarah. “Well, you’ve been true to your word, that’s for sure. The first moment you set foot in this house you told us that speaking your mind and having your way were going to be two of your most notable traits.”
“Damn right,” Sarah said.
Amanda thought she could endorse a personal policy like that.
An hour later, she stood out on the verandah as Adam and Warren brought their horses around from the barn. They were going into Waco and would return the next day with the necessary supplies. The plan was to leave early the day after that.
While Amanda could and would pull her own weight, she didn’t mind leaving this part to the men. Plus, it would give her the opportunity to get well rested before their trip.
When both men crowded their horses close to her, she didn’t back up. Holding her ground, she looked up and into two sets of eyes that seemed to burn with hunger. Sarah had gone upstairs to lie down for a bit, and the Benedict brothers had headed out to chores. She stood alone with no one to overhear or to interfere.
“We’re about to leave, so this is your last chance to back out of going on your treasure hunt.”
Though Adam had spoken, Amanda sensed he spoke for Warren, too.
“Why would I want to back out?”
He let his gaze travel down the length of her body, and she swore in that moment he branded her.
“Because when we get out on the trail, just the three of us, we’re going to have you every way two men can have a woman.”
Oh, yes. Did she feel threatened by that pronouncement? Not in the least. She felt her nipples tighten beneath the fabric of her dress. She licked suddenly dry lips.
“You do understand that I am a virgin?”
Adam’s smile made her belly flutter. “You won’t be much longer. What do you have to say about that, Miss Dupree?”
She looked from his feral expression to Warren’s hungry one. Did she tell them they already had her seduced when they’d not even laid a hand on her? Probably not a good idea. Amanda feared she didn’t know how to play coy or even how to perform the delicate waltz between men and women also known as foreplay.
What did she have to say about being had by these two lawmen? She felt her smile turn hot and sultry and could only think of one word to say.
“Good.”
Chapter 7
Adam figured it was by mutual consent he and Warren spent the time on the way to town talking about everything under the sun except Amanda.
That was only self preservation. It was hell riding with a hard-on.
As they neared their destination, the reality of the upcoming trek needed to be addressed, at least a little.
“I can’t remember the last time I was this anxious to get away from civilization,” Warren said.
Adam chuckled. “I think we’re both looking forward to this particular trail ride.”
“I’m glad we’re not taking the train. This’ll give us lots of time to get to know Amanda.”
“So I was thinking,” Adam grinned.
“I want to check in with my partner. I’ll tell him I’m going to accompany a client out of town.”
Adam looked over at Warren. “Is he going to be pissed with you?”
Warren shrugged. “If we’re successful, it won’t matter, will it? Besides, he had to travel clear to El Paso a few months back, if you’ll recall.” Warren shrugged. “It’s the nature of our work, sometimes.”
“I suppose it is.” Since they would both be heading out again before long, they didn’t bother to take their horses to the livery, as they normally would. Instead, both hitched their mounts outside the ranger headquarters.
Warren’s office was in the courthouse just across the square. A prime location, Adam knew it cost him dearly. Warren claimed it was worth it, not only to be inside the town square which was good for business, but on a personal level, to be close to Adam.
“I don’t expect it will take me long here,” Adam said. “Then I’ll head over to the livery, and then Pete’s place for the rest of the supplies.”
“I’ll likely meet you there, then.”
Just as Warren turned to leave, a sharp whistle had both of them looking in the direction of the Old Ranch Saloon.
“Well, son of a bitch,” Adam said as he recognized the man approaching. “Wyatt Earp, what the hell are you doing here? Last I heard you were headed back to Arizona.” He stepped toward the tall, lanky man, hand extended.
“Just passing through on my way to Austin.” Earp rocked back on his heels. “Couldn’t visit your town without stopping in to say hello.”
“Lucky you caught me. Warren and I are headed out of town for a couple of months.” Adam introduced Warren to the sometime lawman, sometime gambler.
“Oh yeah? Where you headed? Maybe we can ride together.” Earp asked.
Wyatt Earp wasn’t just known for his prowess with a gun and a deck of cards. He had quite the reputation with the ladies. Adam thought of Amanda, and was glad he could truthfully say they were headed in the opposite direction.
“That’s too bad. Maybe we’ll re-connect on my return trip. I’ve got business that’ll likely take more than a few weeks to wind up, there. I figure I still owe you after the way you helped me out back in San Angelo. I would appreciate the chance to settle up.” Earp turned to Warren. “Masterson and I were playing poker with some friends in the Concho Saloon. Kendall, here, had stopped in to have a drink. Some yahoo—hell, I can’t even remember his name—”
“Thomas Farmer,” Adam said.
“Right, Farmer. Anyway, he was sitting at a table over in the corner. He’d been drinking all afternoon. I’d seen him there, of course, but had figured him harmless. Well, apparently, he’d been watching us, had found out who we were. Damned if he didn’t all of a sudden jump up, gun drawn, intent on doing to me what that bastard McCall had done to poor old Hickok up in Deadwood some years back. I tell you, I never saw Kendall here draw his gun, he was that fast. Shot the Colt right out of Farmer’s hand.” He turned his attention back to Kendall. “I figure I owe you plenty as you likely saved my life that day.”
Adam smiled. “Nah, I figure I saved Farmer’s life. He was too drunk to do too much damage, but once he fired that gun of his, either you or Masterson would have killed him for sure.”
“You’ve got that right.”
“Hell of a life you lead sometimes, Ranger,” Warren said.
Adam read the teasing in his tone and smiled. “Goes with the badge,” he said.
Warren took his leave, headed toward his office. Adam turned to Earp.
“Come on in. I can offer you some coffee that’s likely only a few hours old.”
Earp laughed. “Best offer I’ve had all day.”
It didn’t take Adam long to remember why he liked the man so much. Wyatt Earp had a way of putting people at ease, as he did the two rangers who happened to be in the office.
Adam had just finished briefing Fred Saunders, who would be the Ranger in charge while he was gone when a woman came in, fear etched on her face. Adam recognized her immediately. Elizabeth Porter owned the dress shop over on Baker Street.
“Captain Kendall, there’s something not right over at Virgil’s bank. I just looked in the window and I thought I saw folks in there with their hands in the air.”
Adam bolted out the door. As Virgil’s bank was only a couple of blocks away, he headed there on foot. As soon as he turned the corner onto Baker Street, he had the front door of the bank in sight.
“Back way?” Earp, who’d come with him, asked.
“No, no time.” He figured the bandits must have realized something was up, had likely been alerted when Liz left her store, running for the Ranger’s station. The door to the bank opened, and a group of men slowly emerged. He didn’t recognize the three outlaws, but he knew the young bank telle
r they had in front of them, a six shooter pressed to the young man’s head.
No way can this situation come out good. Adam was thankful the street had cleared. He just hoped to God it stayed that way.
He took a few more steps toward the bank, and away from Earp.
“Just hold it right there, Ranger. One step closer and I’m going to put a hole in this boy’s head.”
Adam could see the young teller shaking from where he stood. Instead of addressing the thieves, he gave the hostage a steady look. “Hold on, Ethan. Everything’s going to be all right.”
“What the hell you boys figure you’re going to do?” Earp asked.
His drawl sounded nonchalant. Adam knew the man was anything but.
“You have to know if you don’t throw down your weapons right now, you’ll be meeting your maker today,” Earp said.
“We got us this here hostage, mister. There’s no way you and the Ranger can clear leather before I kill him, so back off.”
“This is my town,” Adam said. “You might as well try and kill me here and now because there is no Goddamned way I’m letting you hurt that young man, or escape justice.”
“Henry’s gonna get on his horse and then he’ll have his gun on our hostage, while I get us on my horse, and then we’s gonna ride. I’ll drop the boy off a mile or so out.”
“I’ve got Henry,” Earp said in a soft voice.
Adam nodded, then turned his attention back to Ethan. He stared hard at the young man, hoping like hell the boy wouldn’t panic in the next couple of minutes.
“On three,” Adam said quietly. He knew Earp would recognize the code. It wouldn’t be a count of three, but of two.
“One. Two.”
The man holding Ethan turned his eyes to Earp when that man shifted slightly, and that was when Adam made his move.
Swift as lightning he drew his gun and pulled the trigger. The report echoed loud in the hot summer air almost simultaneously with Earp’s shot, which caught Henry in the chest and drove him back against the wall of the building. Ethan had thrown himself to the ground and covered his head with both hands. His captor stared unseeing, before falling to the ground, dead.
The third bandit threw away his gun as if it would bite him. “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!” he yelled, his hands high in the air.
“Hell of a shot, Kendall,” Earp said, staring at the hole in the would-be kidnapper’s forehead.
Adam nodded to Henry, who’d been hit where he’d stood, between the horse and the lone surviving bandit. “Not bad shooting yourself.”
He walked over and crouched down where Ethan still lay in the dirt, shaking. “It’s all over now, Ethan. You’re safe.”
The young man pulled his hands away from his head and looked around. When he spotted the dead man lying right beside him, he turned a sickly shade of green.
“Look away and walk away, son,” Wyatt Earp said. “It’s the only way.”
“Y…Yes, sir.” Ethan scrambled to his feet and ran off probably, Adam thought, to puke his guts out.
He turned and caught the smile on Earp’s face. “Well, I’d say that makes us about even.”
“Nah,” the man said as he holstered his gun. “That was just because bullies piss me off.”
* * * * *
Adam didn’t trust himself to turn around and look at her. If he did, he knew he’d stop their progress and have her right then and there in the middle of the day on the hard, unforgiving ground.
So he rode on ahead of Warren and Amanda, listening to their light conversation and working like hell to put his arousal away.
He couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt this horny or this eager.
Thank God Warren understood him and quite happily kept Amanda’s mind engaged.
Of course, not looking at her didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking about her. Adam shook his head. He ordered his thoughts out of carnal territory and instead reviewed what he’d learned of her just from spending time with her. He used his lawman’s analytical mind to think about the woman herself.
Amanda Dupree was way too trusting. She hadn’t even asked him for an accounting of the money he and Warren had spent. How she’d made it this far in life unscathed was a mystery completely beyond him. She seemed generous and warm, and he couldn’t wait to experience her warmth for himself.
Think of something else.
Preparing for their expedition had been an exercise in logistics. Normally, he’d take more than a week to hone his plans. He hadn’t been able to do that. So he and Warren had bought bedrolls and beans, rope and coffee, and just enough extra food—they’d hunt game or fish on the trail—to get them as far as Denison. There, they could resupply.
He’d sent his letter of resignation to Austin. Once his superiors acknowledged it, he’d turn in his badge and move on to the next phase of his life.
Autumn in Texas stayed mild until well into December during the days, but that didn’t mean there couldn’t be cold temperatures at night along the trail. They had flint for starting fires, blankets to sleep on, and even a couple more to keep them warm when they finally fell asleep each night.
Adam expected the heat of loving to keep them all nice, toasty, and warm in the interim.
He looked over his shoulder to judge how Amanda was managing the ride. She’d found her rhythm on the horse, and although the loping pace didn’t eat up ground very quickly, it was a faster pace than he’d been afraid they would have to travel given she wasn’t used to putting in hours on end in the saddle.
That line of thought brought him around to thinking about Amanda’s inexperience in other areas, and he started to get hard. That was not the best shape to be in while riding on the back of a horse. Adam forced his mind back to the present. He was still staring at Amanda and noticed she’d broken off talking to Warren and returned his stare with an undecipherable look.
“You making out all right back there?” Adam asked.
“Yes.”
He flicked his glance to Warren. His lover smirked. Adam didn’t particularly care if Amanda was miffed with him for putting some distance between them. He needed the space.
A couple of hours later, he called a halt beside a slow-moving, shallow stream. The going had been easy so far, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a break, stretch their legs. They weren’t in any rush, after all. The only thing he felt anxious about had nothing to do with progress to be made along the trail.
Adam swung easily from the saddle, dropping the reins to the ground. Houston, his gelding, had been trained well enough. He knew the horse wouldn’t be going anywhere.
One look at Amanda’s face, and his conscience kicked him, hard. He hadn’t meant to ignore her to the point of hurting her feelings. He took the few steps necessary to bring him to her and reached up and lifted her from the saddle.
The moment he got his hands on her and lowered her in front of him, he realized it wasn’t pique she’d been feeling but raw, pushed-to-the-limit hunger.
Despite his best efforts, he realized they were all in the same state of banked arousal. “Oh, what the hell.”
He brought her forward until he could feel the mounds of her breasts pressing against his chest. Then he wrapped his arms around her, put his mouth on hers, and plundered.
His lips slid and smoothed and sucked, his tongue plunged as he tasted every bit of her mouth. She tasted better than he’d imagined, and he had imagined plenty. The force of his desire shocked him, and he figured he should ease back, begin to wean his lips gently from hers.
Until the moment when she surrendered to him completely.
She gave herself to him, winding her arms around his neck, her mouth opening, her tongue stroking and mating with his with absolute abandon. She rolled her hips against his, and he very nearly pulled her to the ground. His cock hardened and instinct had him rocking back against her with a thrust of his hips that spoke vividly of his intentions.
He sensed Warren’s approach, and when that man tucked him
self against Adam’s side and reached out, the stroke of Warren’s hand down his back thrilled him even as it grounded him. He didn’t have to gorge himself now. He could devour slowly, relish each bite. They would have night after night to love.
Adam found his gentleness and eased his lips from Amanda’s. He needed to change the pace, and so he turned rabid hunger into soft sips and light tastes. He wooed her, as she deserved to be wooed, and when she moaned, when he felt her shiver in his arms, he drew her back, just a little, so he could look into her eyes.
The fire-glaze of passion she wore told him she burned as hotly, wanted as desperately, as he. The press of Warren’s body gave him the singular pleasure of feeling his lover’s erection pressed against his hip. Turning his head to the right brought his face within inches of Warren’s. Just another tiny move in that direction allowed Adam to brush his lips over his.
He looked out the corner of his eye, gauging Amanda’s reaction to their male kiss. Her eyes widened, her nostrils flared, and her breathing hitched.
Well, now, that’s just about perfect.
Warren had obviously become aroused just from watching Adam kiss Amanda, and Amanda had demonstrated a similar reaction in turn.
Warren stepped closer and slid his right arm around Amanda as he leaned forward and kissed Adam back. When his lover then turned his head in Amanda’s direction, Adam stepped a few inches to the side and watched as Warren laid his lips on hers.
Warren only allowed himself a small taste, restraining himself likely for the same reason Adam had. When he eased away from her, Adam noted they were all three breathing hard. A quick glance down the front of his lover’s body treated him to the sight of the impressive protrusion ridging his trousers.
“Let’s water the horses and ourselves. We haven’t come very far yet, and I’d like to put a few more hours in the saddle before we make camp. Amanda, are you doing all right?”
“With regard to what?” Her voice held a dazed quality.
Adam laughed, then swooped in and planted a noisy, quick kiss on her lips. “With regard to riding.”
Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Lawmen [The Lost Collection] (Siren Menage Everlasting) Page 6
