by Connie Mason
Hefting her saddlebags over her arm, Zoey left her room and walked down the stairs. No one was around. She supposed she should tell someone she was leaving, and headed for the kitchen. She opened the kitchen door and stopped dead in her tracks. Pierce sat in a huge wooden tub that had been placed beside the big cookstove. His eyes were closed, his head resting against the rim.
“There’s a kettle of hot water on the stove, Ryan. Pour it into the tub, will you? God, this feels good. I feel almost human again.”
Zoey set her saddlebags on the floor, walked to the stove, and picked up the kettle. She poured it into the tub, then set it back on the stove. Pierce’s eyes were still closed and he heaved a tremendous sigh as he settled deeper into the hot water.
“Has Chad returned from town yet?” Pierce asked.
Zoey remained mute as she tiptoed around the tub, retrieved her saddlebags, and headed for the back door. As he sensed her presence, Pierce’s eyes flew open. He saw the saddlebags slung over her arm and all but leaped from the tub. Water sprayed out around his naked body as he reached for Zoey.
“Where in the hell do you think you’re going?”
Zoey’s gaze slid over his glistening nude form, and she felt her cheeks heating. Awareness flew between them. She shuddered, then forced a taut smile to her lips. “I’m going home. I don’t want Cully to worry about me any longer.”
“You’re not going anywhere. Not today,” he qualified.
“I’m merely following your orders,” Zoey charged, keeping her gaze upon his face. If she let it stray, she wouldn’t be able to leave this room, this man, this marriage.
“It’s late,” Pierce said. “I won’t let you to leave without a proper escort. It’s a long way to Rolling Prairie, and anything could happen on the road.”
Zoey’s heart sank. In a moment of bittersweet clarity she realized that Pierce was asking her to remain only until he could arrange an escort, not because he really wanted her to stay.
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. If you’re concerned about the divorce, it’s been taken care of. I left everything up to Lawyer Chambers. He’ll present the petition to the judge when he comes through.”
“I’m not worried about the divorce,” Pierce said, making an impatient motion with his hand. “I’m concerned more about your safety. You’re not going anywhere until I say so.”
They stood nose to nose, neither willing to give an inch. Suddenly the back door opened and Ryan stepped inside. He took one look at Pierce, naked and sporting an erection, and at Zoey, standing close enough to feel his response to her, and turned beet red.
“Sorry,” Ryan said as he spun on his heel and left as abruptly as he had appeared.
Upset and embarrassed, Zoey said, “He shouldn’t have seen us like this.”
“You’re right. We shouldn’t be standing in the middle of the kitchen, not while I’m in this condition.”
Zoey pounded his chest in protest as Pierce scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs to his room. He dropped her in the center of his bed and stood over her, his green eyes dark and unfathomable. She sat up immediately, chin raised, glaring at him.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
He sat down on the bed, making no move to dress. “We need to talk before you leave. This is the only place we can have privacy.”
“Get dressed, then we’ll talk. I’m not going to … That is, we aren’t going to make love.”
“Did I ask it of you?”
Her gaze dropped to his arousal. He might not ask, but it was all she could think of. “Please, Pierce, put on some clothes.”
He laughed, clearly aware of the effect he was having on her. But to please her he pulled the bedcover over his loins. “Satisfied?”
“Yes. What is it you wished to talk about?”
“I want you to remain here a few days longer. When things are more settled I’ll have Ryan see you home to the Circle F.”
“I told you—”
“I insist. There’s one other thing.” He cleared his throat. “I wrote a will when I thought Reed was going to lynch me.”
She stared at him curiously.
“I left my share of the ranch and its profits to you.”
Zoey went still. “Why did you do that?”
Pierce shrugged. “It seemed right at the time.”
“There’s no need for that now. You’re hale and hardy and not likely to leave this earth any time soon.”
“I want you to have it,” Pierce said, surprising her. “It seems right somehow. My brothers have no need of my money. I’m going to have Chambers draw up a legal document. I just wanted you to know.”
Zoey’s eyes grew large and liquid. She didn’t want Pierce’s money, she wanted him. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
He was looking at her so strangely, she felt drawn to him by strong emotional ties. Did Pierce feel it, also? she wondered, suddenly finding herself growing breathless in his daunting presence. Of course not, she chided herself. Pierce was a hardheaded cynic, inured to love. His distrust of women made it impossible for him to love her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
Because I want to be inside you, he thought but left unsaid. I want to thrust myself to the hilt into your hot center. I want to feel you close around me, squeezing me, taking me to Paradise. And when I am spent inside you, I want to hear my name on your lips.
“Pierce, what is it? You’ve got a strange look on your face.”
She was startled by his unexpected move. He reached for her, dragging her hard against him. “I have this unaccountable urge to kiss you,” he said. There was a huskiness in his voice that she recognized and responded to. Her mouth was tipped up to his, moist and slightly open. Until she realized what kissing him would lead to and deftly turned her head aside so that his kiss lit at the corner of her mouth.
“I won’t allow you to use me again, Pierce.”
He touched her cheek, turning her face toward him. “I thought we agreed that we had used one another. I can’t think of another woman I’d rather bed.”
“And I can’t think of another man I’d rather bed.”
“We’re still married,” he reminded her.
“Not for long.”
“Zoey, I know this sounds strange in light of my aversion to marriage, but you are the only woman I’d even consider marrying if I was a marrying man. But I wouldn’t make you happy. I’d be a jealous, suspicious husband, always waiting for you to find someone else and leave me.”
“I’m not asking for a commitment,” Zoey said. “I do have some pride left. Besides, permanency was not part of our arrangement.” He couldn’t know how dearly those words cost her.
“Neither was making love, which we did freely and joyously,” Pierce reminded her. “I deliberately set out to seduce you, you know. You should hate me for taking your virginity.”
“I’ve told you before, you took nothing from me!” Zoey bristled angrily. “I gave my virginity to you because I wanted to. It was my choice. You don’t owe me a damn thing. I forced you into marriage, remember?” She rose from the bed. “We both have much to forgive the other for,” she said in parting.
She heard Pierce groan and then he was pulling her back on the bed, bringing his mouth down on hers, savoring her with the sweep of his tongue, stealing her breath and her senses. He groaned again, and she tasted it on his lips and caught it in her throat. As if under a sorcerer’s spell, she yielded to the gentle coaxing of his mouth, opening to him, welcoming him.
Then she felt his hands, warm and slightly callused, opening her blouse and cradling her breasts, holding them in his palms as if they were something precious.
“Let me love you,” he said, breaking off the kiss and staring at her. His green eyes gleamed with undisguised hunger as his thumbs grazed lightly over her raised nipples.
She shivered with delight, and a sharp shaft of longing jolted through her at his touch. �
��We … shouldn’t.”
His captivating smile made her forget why they shouldn’t.
She stared at his mouth, wanting him to kiss her again, unaware that he had removed her shirt and was now ridding her of her camisole.
“Your body is so beautiful,” he said. “All soft and smooth. Your breasts are two mouth-watering morsels, begging to be tasted.”
His dark head lowered, his lips closing moistly over one coral peak. His tongue flicked at it in sensual strokes, and Zoey felt her insides bubbling to a boil. He sucked deeply, and she felt hot, damp moisture gathering between her legs. By the time he moved to the other breast, she was pulsing with an insistent ache. She moaned, her hands clasping his head to hold him in place against her breast.
Pierce skillfully unfastened the front of her denims, running his hand beneath the material, lower. Zoey lurched against him, murmuring a protest that had no substance.
“Let me touch you, love,” Pierce whispered against her lips. “Let me make you feel good again. This might be the last time for us.”
Zoey wanted to deny him, truly she did, but the words would not come. She wanted Pierce as badly as he seemed to want her. Then his hand found her and she lost the ability to think.
“It’s always been good between us,” Pierce said as he skimmed her denims down her legs. Then he removed her boots and denims and tossed them aside.
It was too late for Zoey to protest as Pierce kissed her again, one hand kneading her breasts, the other intimately cupping her between the legs, his knowing fingers delving through the down sheltering her to caress the soft, dewy cleft hidden there. He rotated the heel of his hand against the tender bud where passion dwelled, so sensitive that Zoey jerked wildly, drawing in an explosive gasp.
“Pierce! It’s too much!”
“It’s not nearly enough. Take a deep breath, relax, and let me love you the way you deserve.”
He eased his finger inside her, gliding on the slick moisture, and she arched up against the pressure of it.
As his fingers stroked and prodded, every nerve in Zoey’s body drew tight as a bowstring, centering upon that place where he was touching her. Desire spiraled through her and she felt as if she’d break in two if Pierce didn’t give her that final release. But Pierce had just begun.
Rising slightly, he slid down her body and placed his mouth where his fingers had just been. His tongue parted and teased, laved and stroked, a firebrand that ignited her flesh. Zoey tingled, she burned, flames licked along her flesh, consuming her in their inferno. It could end no other way but explosively. With a hoarse cry, she found that final, mindless release as incredible waves of ecstasy rippled through her.
“Now it’s my turn,” Pierce gasped, his blood clamoring for release. “Concentrate, love. Come with me again.”
Raising her hips, he positioned himself between her thighs and thrust inside her. He shuddered. The pleasure of sheathing himself in her tight, warm passage nearly brought him to the pinnacle. Clenching his teeth against the need to spill himself, he held very still inside her until his control returned. Then he flexed his hips and thrust himself to the hilt, withdrew and thrust again. Thrust and withdrew, until his hips were pistoning into her, against her.
She arched up to meet his thrusts, grasping his shoulders as if to stop the world from spinning. Then she cried out and convulsed as Pierce took her along with him to blissful completion. He shouted her name, shuddered, then went still with contentment.
Zoey sighed and opened her eyes. Pierce was grinning down at her. She grinned back. Pierce’s loving always seemed to do that to her. It was almost like dying a little.
“No other woman has ever done that to me,” Pierce confessed.
“Do what?”
“Made me feel … I don’t know, it’s an extraordinary feeling.”
“I can’t even begin to describe how you make me feel,” Zoey said. “I’m not an authority on this sort of thing, but you seem to be awfully good at it.”
Pierce gave her a cheeky grin. Zoey thought he should smile more often; it made him look young and wonderfully appealing. “You’re not so bad yourself for a beginner.”
Zoey flushed. “We should get up. It’s growing late and I wanted to be on my way before dark.”
Pierce’s scowled. “You’re not going anywhere until I can provide you with an escort. It may be a few days before someone is available.”
“Why are you doing this? I just don’t understand you. You want me, yet you don’t want me. Make up your mind.”
Pierce stared at the ceiling. “I’ve been thinking. Maybe you shouldn’t return home at all. My brothers seem to like you, and I … well, you know how explosive we are together. Besides, it will be a while before our divorce is granted.”
“Let me get this straight. You want me to stay because we’re good in bed, is that it?” Zoey asked evenly.
Pierce wasn’t sure what he meant. He was confused. For some reason he was loath to let Zoey leave, even though common sense told him he was asking for more heartache than he could bear.
“Isn’t that a good enough reason?”
“I repeat,” Zoey said quietly. “You want us to share a bed until our divorce is granted.”
“Or until we tire of one another.” Lord, what made him put things so crudely? Each time he opened his mouth he seemed to put his foot into it. “I won’t lie to you, Zoey. I don’t want a permanent relationship. I’m just saying that we’re not ready to part yet. What just happened between us proves it.”
“In other words,” she enunciated slowly, “you want to keep me as your whore until you tire of me.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth. You’re my wife, not my whore. You could never be that.”
“Explain the difference, please. The only reason you want me to stay is so you’ll have a bed partner for as long as I continue to please you. Thank you, but no thank you.”
“I’m not presenting this well, am I?”
Zoey gave an inelegant snort. “I understand you perfectly. Forget it, Pierce. You’re making a mockery of marriage.”
Pierce’s answer was forestalled when someone knocked on the door.
“Pierce, are you in there?” Ryan called through the door. “Chad is home. If you want to talk to him, you’d better come quickly.”
“I’ll be down in a minute, Ryan,” Pierce replied. “Tell Chad not to go anywhere until I speak to him.”
“What are you going to say to Chad?” Zoey asked as she slid out of bed and gathered her discarded clothing.
Pierce scrambled for a pair of pants. “I’ve got plenty to say to him.”
“Chad did it for you, you know.”
“Not for me. I never would have asked this of him. Dammit, Zoey, now Cora Lee’s bastard will carry the Delaney name.”
“Don’t be too hard on him.” Zoey said as she pulled on her shirt and buttoned it across her breasts.
Finished with his own dressing, Pierce picked up Zoey’s boots and handed them to her. “Tell me later what you decide about us. If you still want to leave, at least wait until things are settled here and someone can escort you home.”
“I’ll wait a few days, but nothing will change my mind about leaving.”
Pierce faced Chad across the table, his anger palpable. “I don’t care why you married Cora Lee, Chad. Your intentions may have been good, but your sacrifice was uncalled-for.”
“They were going to lynch you,” Chad said defensively.
“I doubt it,” Pierce replied. “Riley Reed was the only one who really wanted to see me swing at the end of a rope. The townspeople were becoming bored with the whole affair. Reed and Doolittle were the ones keeping it alive. I think they were afraid Judge Walters would let me off lightly. You got yourself a wife for all the wrong reasons, Chad.”
Chad’s lips thinned. “You’re a fine one to talk! Look how easily you got railroaded into marriage.”
Zoey gave a strangled gasp.
“Dammit, Chad, w
atch your tongue!” Ryan snapped.
Chad sent Zoey a sheepish look. “Sorry, Zoey.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. You didn’t lie,” Zoey said. She scraped her chair back. “If you gentlemen will excuse me, I think I’ll take a walk.”
“Go after her,” Chad said after Zoey left.
“Later. I’m not finished with you yet.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you are. What’s done is done. I did what I thought was necessary at the time. I don’t intend to live with Cora Lee, or bring her here. In a few days, once I can face that little bitch again, I’m going over there to talk with her father. I’d appreciate it if you came along. Old Ed Doolittle always liked you better than any of us. I’m going to explain just how I ended up married to Cora Lee.”
“I’m not sure he’ll understand,” Pierce said. “He’s in pretty bad shape.”
Chad’s expression hardened. “I’ll make him understand. Will you come with me? We’re a family, Pierce. We have to stick together. It’s not going to do a damn bit of good to stay mad at me. What’s done is done.”
Pierce stared at Chad, realizing that everything his brother said was true. Chad wasn’t a naughty child he could punish at will. He was a man, one who must live with his mistakes. Chad’s motives had been unselfish; he’d only wanted to save his brother’s life. Pierce would have done the same.
“Very well, Chad, you’ve made your point. You’ll have to live with your mistake until we can do something about it. We’re brothers. Pa taught us to stick together through thick and thin. I may not like what you did, but I respect your right to make the decision you did. I blame myself for the mess we’re in.”
“Let’s just try to forget this episode in our lives,” Chad suggested. “Marriage isn’t all that final. We’ll work this out like we’ve done everything else. One day we’ll both be free of entanglements.”
