“I’m fine. A bit stiff and sore, but I’ll ride as long as you need me to.”
“We promise to get rid of the stiffness and soreness tonight,” Warren said.
“I’ll hold you to that promise.”
“Of course, you might end up trading one kind of discomfort for another,” Adam said.
“I’ll hold you to that one, too.”
Adam grinned. By damn, he was really coming to like this unique, gutsy woman.
* * * *
The sun burned hotly and her muscles ached from the long ride, but neither of those two facts mattered much. Amanda’s body hummed with arousal, the words Adam had said to her before he’d left for town the day before echoing in her mind.
Each step the horse took rocked her body in the saddle, rubbed her against the stiff leather. Petticoat and pantaloon didn’t protect her tender flesh from feeling the slight friction. Hot gazes and those spectacular kisses worked with that sensation to keep her body in a constant state of arousal and readiness.
She felt the moisture between her thighs as the day wore on and her anticipation built. The flavor of their kisses stayed on her lips regardless of the sips of water she took to bathe her parched throat.
If passion had a color, it wouldn’t be red, or orange. It would be the deep chestnut brown of Adam’s hair, or the sparkling chocolate of Warren’s eyes. Or maybe it would be a red, the deepening red of the setting sun, as the day waned and evening drew near.
Amanda let her eyes rest on Adam. Warren had told her a little of what had happened the day before in Waco. That Adam Kendall would put himself on the line to save another came as no surprise. What had amazed her was the level of anxiety she’d felt, the deep belly-wrenching fear that had slid through her when she thought how close he’d come to getting killed. Adam’s courage and his strength awed her. She already knew he would protect and care for those around him as naturally as he breathed.
Turning her head, she looked at Warren. He wasn’t what she’d consider a brooder, but Warren Jessop was a thinker. He also seemed very much aware of Adam, sensitive to his moods and his emotions. She’d watched the two of them together and marvelled at how attuned they were to each other. Warren had chatted with her most of the day, off and on, but even then she could see how he’d keep part of his attention focused on Adam, and on her, too. He turned just then, his gaze gentle, his smile slight.
That look heated her blood and created a flutter in her belly. His smile deepened, and she realized he understood the effect he’d just had on her.
Both Warren and Adam aroused her when she’d almost convinced herself she couldn’t be aroused. That was another thing her mother had told her. Some people, women and men, too, had no sexual desire inside them. Until she’d come to Waco and met these two men, Amanda had almost convinced herself she was one of them.
She felt her lips slide into a smile. After those kisses earlier, she certainly had no worries in that area. Just thinking about the way Adam and Warren tasted, the way their tongues had moved in her mouth and their hands stroked down her body made her yearn for more.
Just ahead, greener grass and a copse of trees promised shade and at least a stream. Adam looked over his shoulder. His gaze locked with hers.
The heat in Adam’s gaze was unmistakable. He focused on her breasts, and she could actually feel her nipples tighten in response. My God, if I react this way with just a look, what will it be like when he actually touches me? As if he could hear that thought, Adam licked his lips, and smiled.
“We’ll make camp just ahead,” Adam said.
“About time,” Warren said. He, too, gave her a look that assured her his thoughts were on the carnal pleasures ahead of them.
“I know.” Adam laughed. “But we needed to get as many miles behind us as possible. We’ve gone slightly more than twenty today, and that’s a good start. And I wanted to stop where there’d be water, and softer grass.”
It only took them another few minutes to reach the trees. Not a stream, but a river flowed placidly. Adam found a place where the bank sloped gently, and he chose that area to make camp.
The men dismounted easily. Warren immediately turned to the pack horse tied to his own and began to unload the things they’d need for the night. Before she could manage to swing herself down from the saddle, Adam was there, his arms lifted in invitation. Since her legs felt a bit numb, she appreciated the courtesy.
Her gasp of pain escaped involuntarily, and she nearly fell when her feet touched the ground. She collapsed heavily against Adam, and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her up.
“Oh! I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry because I pushed you too hard the first day?” Adam asked. He gathered her close, and she leaned on him, very grateful for the support. This was the second time she felt his arms around her and she liked it a lot.
“You didn’t push me too hard. I knew it would take me a few days to get used to this.” The impulse came over her and she stretched up and brushed a quick kiss against his lips. She took a step back, testing her ability to stand on her own two feet.
“All right?” Adam looked ready to catch her if she faltered.
“Yes. What can I do to help with camp?”
“There should be some sticks and branches lying about, what with all these trees. Do you think you can gather some?”
“Of course. I must confess, though, that I’ve never cooked over an open fire.”
“That’s all right, sweetheart. We have.” Adam bent down and returned her chaste kiss before moving off.
Amanda’s movements were stilted at first, but after a few minutes, walking became easier. As she gathered firewood, she scouted out the best place to get into the river. She knew the water likely would be cold, but she thought she might like to freshen up after dinner.
She gathered several armfuls of wood, pleased the fuel seemed not only plentiful but dry. Soon, the aroma of brewing coffee seduced her. She returned with one last load of wood just as Warren poured the beverage. He had another pot, supported by three rods, suspended over the fire. Drawing closer, Amanda looked inside it to see beans heating, beginning to simmer. Adam had watered the animals and hobbled them where they could eat the lush grass.
He’d also spread out the bedrolls, making one large sleeping pallet.
The sight of the bedrolls combined that way made her belly clutch and moisture gather between her legs. It put her in mind of the enormous bed her cousin shared with her husbands. Oh, God. She placed a hand on her belly because that fluttering had begun again. Amanda didn’t know if it was excitement or nervousness she felt the most.
She felt the heat of gazes and looked up to find both men staring at her, their expressions what she could only call ravenous.
She didn’t think that condition had been inspired by the aroma of their cooking dinner.
“Are you hungry?” Warren asked.
The twinkle in his eye added to the excitement building within her. This was the sort of flirting she’d once derided, but the allure of it, the fun of it, drew her in.
“Yes, I am. Very hungry.”
“Then come over here,” Adam said. “Sit down between us, and we’ll see what we can do about taking care of that appetite.”
Chapter 8
Colin Baker stood just outside the Old Ranch Saloon. The smell of whisky, smoke, and body odor hit him hard, made him blink.
Waco, Texas, turned out to be a bigger town than he’d imagined it would be, which made his task that much more difficult than he’d hoped. He’d arrived in town earlier and checked into the hotel closest to the rail station.
The manager had been happy to answer his questions, claiming that no lone female had checked into his establishment in the last month, let alone the past few days. There were two other hotels in Waco, as well as a boarding house. He’d just come from the last one. Amanda Dupree had not registered or stayed at any of them. He’d stopped off at the train station and asked the station ma
ster if he’d seen the woman. Colin knew she’d come to Waco. He’d been a couple of days behind her on every stop along the way. She’d gotten on the train in St. Louis, Missouri, as the station master there definitely remembered her.
The Waco station master didn’t, but one of the conductors recalled “the widow Dupree.” The man had been adamant when he’d insisted the lady had family in the area, though Colin was beginning to get the impression that the term “area” in Texas had a broader meaning than it did in Richmond.
“Are you sure about that, Clayton?” the station master asked the man.
“Sure as I’m standing here. Why, Captain Kendall and his cousin, that lawyer fellow, were waiting here for her when she stepped off the train. She rode off with them, too.”
Thankfully, neither of the railroad men thought to ask him the reason for his interest. It had only just occurred to him that he couldn’t very well just go openly hunting for the woman without having a damn good reason for doing so.
“I’ll say I have news of her mother,” he muttered. He nearly laughed out loud at his own joke. If he thought he could use it, those words would be the best opening and would encourage strangers to help him. But a smart lawman might ask him how he had news of her mother. That could be a problem.
He stepped into the saloon, letting the double doors close behind him, and made his way over to the bar. It wouldn’t hurt to have a couple of drinks while he figured out what to do next. Then he could head over to his room, get a good night’s sleep, and be ready to carry on with his plan in the morning.
When he’d asked, he’d been told that Captain Kendall was the commander of the Texas Ranger division here in Waco. Colin wondered why a lawman had been waiting for the whore and where he could have taken her. He didn’t feel he could just march over to the Rangers’ office, at least not before he knew for certain she was there and he got his story straight.
If she’d been arrested, he could be honest and say he’d followed her to recover stolen property. Gladstone really had no business leaving anything to that blow-by so as far as Colin was concerned.
Colin didn’t regret his decision to come after the Dupree woman. He had thought the matter would have been easily handled. The longer this played out, the more satisfaction he’d have when he finally held his property in his hands. As for the woman, the more effort he had to spend getting back what belonged to him just racked up the amount she owed him. And he knew just how he was going to collect.
He leaned against the bar, the noise and odors more tolerable now he’d been in them for a while. His belly wanted food, but he didn’t think he’d find much good to eat here. He’d get that back at his hotel, too.
“Howdy there, mister. What can I get for you?” The bartender, a burly looking man with lots of hair, wiped the wood before him with a damp, less-than-clean cloth.
“Whiskey.” Colin dropped a few coins on the bar. In short order, he had a glass in front of him. He scanned the patrons, feeling a little out of his element. This was hardly the gentlemen’s club back home. These were hard looking men, likely ranchers and drifters, possibly gunslingers and desperados. As he stood sipping his drink, the sound of individual voices seemed to separate from the general din and assault his ears.
“Don’t reckon old Pennington can whip his weight in wild cats anymore.”
“No, but his missus sure can.”
Colin smiled despite himself, then tilted his head in a slightly different direction.
“Jay-sus, Bodine. That must have damn near rotted your guts all to hell.”
“Son of a bitch throws me into prison, the least the bastard could do is be here when I get out. Ira, how the hell am I supposed to call out that bastard Kendall if he’s not even here, for God’s sake?”
It sounded as if those men were sitting at a table behind and to the right of him. Because the one named Bodine had said the ranger’s name, Colin thought it prudent to listen in.
“Kendall left?” A third voice asked. A chair scrapped as the newcomer joined the other two.
Maybe I can learn something more about this Kendall.
Colin lifted his glass, sipped slowly, and continued to eavesdrop.
“Richards saw him ride out, him and some fancy dude,” Bodine said.
Colin heard a hack and a spit.
“That’d be his cousin, the lawyer,” Ira said. “Feller got hisself shot a couple months back. Since then Kendall’s stuck right close to him.”
“Cousin, huh? I reckon it makes sense a bastard lawman would have a bastard lawyer as kin.” Bodine said.
“Point is, Bodine, they ride out a lot. Out to that place Maddox used to own. I heard that Kendall is in tight with that dude Maddox’s widow married.”
“Damn, a man goes away for a couple of years and the whole God damn world changes. Maddox got hisself married and dead. Poor bastard on both counts. But, no, Richards said Kendall had a pack horse loaded down with supplies. And he said he heard the two were riding off with some fancy lady came in from back East a few days back who was staying out there at the Maddox spread. Had no idea what they were going after. Like as not, Kendall was escorting her somewhere—Richards thought El Paso, but then Richards thinks El Paso is the only place anyone ever goes.”
Colin picked up his glass and then slowly turned to face the men he’d been listening to. An idea had come to him, and he knew how he was going to catch that woman and retrieve his property.
He stepped up to the table. “Can you track them?” he asked.
These men looked rougher than most of the men he’d seen since coming west. Rough was exactly what he needed to get the job done.
“Why would you want to know that, stranger? And why the hell would we care?”
Colin had been right in guessing Bodine was some sort of leader among these ruffians. Displaying a brass he didn’t really feel, he picked up the last remaining chair, turned it around, and straddled it. He knocked back the whiskey in his glass and set the empty down.
“Because that woman is my wife and she stole something from me. And I’ve got five hundred dollars for the man who can lead me to her.”
* * * *
Amanda’s emotions had stretched to the breaking point. Never had she been so excited, so anxious, and so nervous all at the same time. She knew, albeit in the most academic terms, how this evening was going to end. Yet she’d never experienced anything like what was about to happen. Neither had she ever experienced anything like the sensations already running hot through her body.
The sun had burned beyond the horizon, and the night air turned cool. Somehow she hadn’t made it down to the river to bathe, though she had meant to. Instead, she’d relaxed here beside the fire, enjoyed the simple meal Warren had prepared, and fully engaged in conversation with these two fascinating men. That conversation now tapered off. Both men looked at her, their gazes seeking and holding hers, their expressions heated.
Their handsome faces had captured her attention, no question. What she knew of them so far had begun to soften her heart.
She’d never been kissed the way these two men had kissed her. Her body came alive earlier and had been waiting for more ever since.
Waiting for this moment.
Adam got to his feet and walked out of the halo of the firelight in the direction of the horses. She heard the soft nicker of the animals and a little rustling and knew he had opened one of the saddle bags.
Warren said nothing, his expression lacking curiosity, so whatever Adam did was no mystery to him. When the other man appeared, he held a towel and a bar of soap.
He came to her and held out his hand. Part offer, part command, the gesture was impossible to ignore.
He led her to the water, and at the edge of the bank, he set down the small bundle.
“One good thing about waiting until now to get into the water, it won’t seem quite as cold to you.”
“I don’t think I could feel cold at the moment.”
Warren stepped clo
se behind her, and the heat from his body seared her. “No,” he said softly, “I think we’re all pretty hot right about now.”
“We want you,” Adam said. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. The touch felt light, nearly reverent, and she felt a part of herself simply melt. “Will you let us have you?”
“I promised myself I would only ever give myself to a man who made my insides flutter and my toes curl. My mama told me that’s how it should feel, you see, when it was the right man. I had come to believe I would never feel that, because I never did. But I do, now. I have from the first moment I saw you both.” She looked over her shoulder so Warren would know she included him equally. “You both make me feel that way. So yes. Yes, please. I want you to have me. I want to have you both.”
Adam inhaled sharply. In what light existed, she could see the glitter in his eyes. His gaze went to Warren and then back to her.
“Amanda.”
Together, as if they’d done it all their lives, the men undressed her. As the weight of her clothes left her, so, too, did the weight of her shyness. They would be the only men to ever see her naked. If they decided someday in the future they’d had their fill, she knew there would be no others for her.
She, who had always doubted the existence of love, found she was in love with these two men already. She could never choose between them, and she would never choose anyone else.
Adam murmured and she lifted her arms for him. He slid her chemise up and off. Cool air puckered her nipples while male heat warmed her inside and out.
“You are so beautiful.” Adam bent and placed a light kiss on her right breast. “We’re going to feast on you.”
“I’ll do some feasting of my own,” she promised.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Warren leaned forward and placed a kiss on her left shoulder.
The men made quick work of dropping their clothes, revealing themselves to her without coyness. Warren moved to press against her back, and she felt the unmistakable ridge of his erect cock against the crack of her ass.
Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Lawmen [The Lost Collection] (Siren Menage Everlasting) Page 7
