Silver-Tongued Devil

by Lorelei James

  “Only when there are no other options. I had enough seafood when we lived in Boston to last me a lifetime.”

  She smirked.

  “What?”

  “Looking at you all cowboyed up atop your fancy horse, wearing a hat, vest, gun and badge, I forget that you were raised a city boy.”

  He snorted. “That seems a lifetime ago.”

  “No desire to ever return to the big city?”

  “Not a single one.” He cut around a rock outcropping and turned to watch to make sure her horse followed his.

  “Sometimes I think my life would be easier if I lived in a big city,” she mused.

  “Probably. Bein’s you don’t consider yourself much of a horsewoman,” he teased.

  “I haven’t had much opportunity to become one,” she retorted. “In the hours I’m not running a business, I can’t saddle up and indulge in a long ride. Not only because I’d get hopelessly lost, but riding by myself isn’t a good idea for me even more so than other single women.” She snapped the reins when her horse seemed more interested in stopping to eat than moving along.

  Jonas would take her riding every day if she’d let him. He didn’t offer, knowing that would get her back up.

  “So thank you for today, Jonas. This truly is a peaceful place.”

  He looked around. “It is, ain’t it? Silas has a vision for the McKay Ranch. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s gone about his land purchases the right way.” Another snort. “With the exception of the card game with Zeke West. But to be honest, Zeke got what he deserved in bein’ dishonest and double dealin’ with our neighbor. That just ain’t right.”

  “I noticed you said ‘our’ neighbor. Does that mean Silas has convinced you to spend more time ranching?”

  “Nope. He’s got the name McKay on the deeds he owns, which ain’t uncommon when families stake claims, officially puttin’ just their surname down. Anyone over the age of twenty-one can claim one hundred and sixty acres, and naturally, any family that settles wants their land adjoining. Silas did the same for us a little over four years ago when we turned twenty-one.”

  Ruby reined her horse to stop. “So how much of what I can see is McKay land?”

  “All of it. Well, at least what we’ve been ridin’ on since we followed the creek.”

  Her eyes widened. “Jonas. How much land does Silas have?”

  He clucked his tongue at her. “Greenhorn move, woman. You don’t ask a man the size of his spread or how many head of cattle he runs.”

  “Is that against some ‘code’ of the West?”

  “Nope. It just ain’t considered polite. It’s like askin’ a lady her age.”

  “Ah. Understood. Thank you for the ranching etiquette lesson.”

  He wheeled his horse around, taking in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view. “Just so you know…in this part of the country, a cattleman needs roughly thirty acres per cow.”

  “Thirty acres for each cow?”

  “Yep. Cattle need to eat a lot to get fat for market and ranchers want them grazing when there’s grass available. Winter months are easier on the ranchers in some respects because the livestock needs hay to survive, so they’ll herd together in closer quarters rather than bein’ spread out lookin’ for a food source. But if you can’t grow enough hay to get your herd through the winter, then you’ve gotta buy it, and there goes part of the profit.”

  “Listen to your cattleman speak,” she teased.

  “It’s the life I lived for many years. I still got one boot in the world most days.” He pointed to a line of scrub oaks bordering the creek. “That’s where we’re goin’.” He spurred his horse and headed for the biggest tree.

  Ruby followed at a more sedate pace.

  Jonas helped her dismount. Then he removed the saddlebag. “If you wanna set up in the shade under that tree, I’ll deal with the horses.”

  “Deal with them…how?”

  “Gotta take the bits outta their mouths so they can eat and drink.”

  “Do you tie them up?”

  He shook his head. “My horse ain’t gonna bolt. If yours does for some reason, well, darlin’, I did wrangle livestock for a livin’, so I can catch a fat, slow mare pretty easily.”

  She might’ve murmured, “I’d sure like to see that,” before she turned away.

  When he returned, he saw she’d spread out a quilt. She’d taken the food out of his saddlebag and set it on a flat rock.

  She had her hands on her hips as he approached. “You are sure that no one will be riding along and catching us out here?”

  “Ain’t no one gonna bother us, Ruby.”

  “Good. Then I’m taking off these blasted hot clothes.”

  Jonas watched slack-jawed as Ruby undressed.

  She unhooked her skirt, stepped out of it and laid it in the grass. Then she unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it aside. On her upper half she wore a plain white shift that left her arms and shoulders bare and exposed her skin down to the tops of her breasts. On the bottom half she wore pantalets that ended above her knee. She plopped down and removed her lace-up boots and stockings. She fell back onto the quilt, her limbs akimbo, toes wiggling as she sighed gustily. “This is more like it.”

  He let a warm, giddy rush of possessiveness flow through him. No one else got to see her like this, relaxed and carefree. Shadows and sunlight dappling her exposed flesh, a breeze tousling her hair and a secret smile curling her lips.

  “Are you just gonna stand there staring at me, Deputy? Or are you planning on joining me?”

  “Can’t blame a man for bein’ addle-brained with a beautiful half-nekkid woman spread out before him in a private feast.”

  She laughed. “God. I love that sweet-talkin’ almost as much as your dirty talk.” She propped herself up on her elbows. “Did you bring a knife?”

  “It’s in the bottom of the left saddlebag.”

  He undid his gun belt and set it on the ground. His vest followed. Then he removed his hat, boots and socks and lowered next to her.

  She’d sliced wedges of cheese, nestling the chunks into the pieces of bread she’d torn off. She handed him a piece and a dark brown bottle with a flip top.

  “What’s this?”

  “Wine.” She opened up a red bandana between them. “I brought plums and honey corncakes too.”

  “Thanks.” Even though he wasn’t a huge fan of wine, he took a swig from the bottle. His eyes widened and he took another sip. “Dang, darlin’. That is good.”

  “Mrs. Mavis makes it special for us from the fruit she has leftover in the fall. We girls hoard it. That is my last bottle.”

  “Then I am grateful you’re sharin’ it with me.”

  Tiny, sweet plums, sour bread and tangy cheese, golden, crumbly honey-cakes, all washed down with spiced fruity wine and shared in the sunshine with the woman he loved—it was the best meal he’d ever had.

  After they’d stuffed themselves, they stretched out on the quilt. Jonas reveled in how easily Ruby snuggled into him, her head on his chest, her legs entwined with his.

  She made a soft humming noise. “I love this.”

  And I love you.

  He stayed quiet and kept caressing her back.

  The food, the wine, the warm woman at his side and a cool breeze drifting over them from the creek lulled him into a peaceful place.

  Content, he dozed off. Ruby had too, he noticed, when a hawk’s cry awakened him. He turned his head and saw both horses still grazing in the meadow between the hills.

  Ruby stirred. “I guess I was tired.”

  “Yep. The snoring gave it away.”

  She poked him in the side, and he laughed.

  “I nodded off myself.”

  “How was your trip to Gillette with Silas?”

  “Good. He was skittish about bein’ on the train, thinkin’ he might run into Zeke West since he’s now forbidden from ever fightin’ with him again. I thought once we were at the stores he’d relax, but he was wound tight.”


  “From what?”

  “Nerves. It ain’t every day a man buys his intended a ring.”

  She lifted her head off his chest and gaped at him. “That’s the reason for the emergency trip you two took into Gillette yesterday afternoon?”

  “Yeah. It bugged Silas that people kept askin’ Dinah why she wasn’t wearin’ his ring.” He groaned. “Took him two damn hours to pick one. Then we went to a tailor. He’s havin’ a courtin’ suit made. I told him it looked like a funeral suit since it was all black, but he argued he liked plain, so I let him be. He bought a bunch of material, lace and other frilly stuff for Dinah to make a bicycling dress out of. I refused to help him pick out household goods and went to the saloon for a drink.”

  “Poor Jonas. Not interested in setting up housekeeping,” she teased.

  I’d set up a household in a hot minute with you.

  “When are they getting married?”

  “Next summer.”

  She frowned. “Why are they waiting?”

  “Dinah promised she’d teach and help out Doc for another year. Silas says he’ll use the time to improve the cabin, build chicken coops, add on a stall for a milk cow, till up a garden area, plant fruit trees. Hell, I think he might even be planning to sew curtains for the windows.”

  Ruby laughed. “It’s sweet that he wants to make it a home for them.” She paused. “Where does that leave you?”

  “Bunkin’ at the jail some weekends since Dinah plans to spend every other Saturday night and most Sundays with Silas. I thought about askin’ Sheriff Eccleston if I could start workin’ in the Sundance office. At least there’s a hotel there.” He nudged her hip with his. “Too bad Ruby Red’s ain’t a real boardinghouse, ’cause I sure could use a room to rent.”

  She stiffened beside him, as if he planned to ask if he could stay with her more often than he already did.

  “Anyway, when I was havin’ a drink at the Last Chance Saloon in Gillette, I saw an outlaw huntin’ buddy of mine. He was headed to Butte, Montana. Guess there’s been some issues between the miners and the mining company, and he’s been hired to help keep the peace.” He paused. “Said if I was tired of breakin’ up barfights in backwoods Wyoming he’d hire me. The money they were payin’ him would turn any man north to Montana.”

  “Are you seriously considering it?”

  “If I’m bein’ honest…I came here because of my brother. If he’s got a wife and his own family, I don’t know that he needs me around. Especially since he finally understands that I ain’t interested in ranchin’ with him.” He snorted. “But no way in hell would I move to Butte for any amount of money. Dirty, stinky-ass town.”

  “You’ve been there?”

  “I’ve spent a lot of time all over Montana. First workin’ the cattle drives. We drove the herds to Miles City more times than I can count. Then workin’ the outlaw trail, a lot of them wanted guys headed to Butte or Great Falls. I didn’t mind it there. Seemed to be more big-city-like though, with the dams powering electricity.”

  She trailed her fingers up and down his belly. “Right after I set up Ruby Red’s I had a customer come through from Montana. He kept telling me about all the money I could make if I set up a house in Helena.”

  Jonas laughed. “Yeah, Helena does have more than its share of dance halls, saloons, and bawdy houses. It is a mining town, after all. That said, because it’s the capitol, and it’s set at the base of these truly spectacular mountains, it’s a lot classier city. But it still feels…untamed.”

  “That appeals to you.”

  “That whole area from Helena to Missoula to Kalispell appeals to me. Beautiful country. Lots of opportunities.”

  “Sounds like you’re lamenting lost opportunities.” Ruby sat up and shifted over to sit on her knees, straddling his hips. “Speaking of lost opportunities…” She fell forward, bracing her hands by his head. Then she kissed him. Consumed him. Seduced him fully with the rolling press of her curves against his chest and the tease and retreat of her tongue. She nipped along his jaw, stopping to blow in his ear.

  He groaned and tilted his head for more of that.

  “I did miss you, Deputy,” she murmured into his neck. “And since I’ve been the first for you for so many things, it’s only fair that you get to be the first for me for something too.”

  Jonas gently trapped her face in his hands, mindful of her stitches, to stop her wicked mouth from rendering him stupid. “A first for what?”

  “I’ve never fucked outside.”

  “Never?”

  She shook her head. “Always inside. I mean, I’m grateful I never had to be a camp whore, but still, this will be fun. We can be as loud as we want.”

  He stroked the hollows of her cheeks as his eyes searched hers. “You know it’s a first for me too, darlin’, since you’re the only woman I’ve ever been with.” He didn’t bother masking the longing in his face that silently told her she was the only woman he ever wanted to be with.

  Her eyes darkened. “Jonas. I—”

  Placing his thumbs on her lips, he said gruffly, “It’ll keep.” Gently, he pushed her back so he could sit up. “Now get nekkid, woman, so we can teach the birds and the bees a thing or two.”

  Ruby happily complied, even if she did seem skittish and immediately sat back down on the quilt, looking around as if swarms of bugs would attack her bared skin.

  After Jonas ditched his clothes, he removed the box from his pants pocket and palmed it before he scooted in behind her. He allowed himself to be momentarily distracted by the beautiful visual of her black hair floating against the creaminess of her skin; the ends nearly brushed the indentions above her buttocks. When he kissed the slope of her shoulder, she rested more fully against him, igniting his blood with her scent.

  He said, “I have something for you.”

  “Mmm. I can feel what you have for me poking me in the back.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I plan on givin’ you that too, but this is something else. Close your eyes.” His heart thundered as he opened the box and held it in front of her. “Okay. Now you can look.”

  She gasped. “What is this?”

  “A little something I picked up when I was in the jewelry store in Gillette.”

  “Jonas. It’s beautiful.” She reached out and traced the golden heart. “Is that…?”

  “A ruby? Yep. That’s when I knew I had to buy it for you.”

  She gently tugged the necklace from the box and held it up by the chain, letting it swing like a pendulum. The gold charm glinted in the sunlight. Then she turned her head and grinned at him. “Can I wear it now?”

  Relief swept through him that she hadn’t refused his gift. “Of course. Lean forward and I’ll fasten it.”

  Once the chain circled her neck, she pressed her fingers over the gold charm where it rested in the hollow of her throat. “Thank you. I will always treasure this.”

  Jonas kissed the side of her neck. “I know you don’t wanna hear this, but I’m gonna say it anyway.” He covered her fingers with his own. “Ruby at the center of my heart. That’s you. That’ll always be you.”

  She twisted in his embrace and pushed him onto his back. She kissed him with devotion. His chin. His lips. The dimples in his cheeks. The corners of his eyes. His temples. His forehead. The shell of each ear. The spot below his ear. More long kisses that were sweeter than the plums and went to his head faster than the wine. When she started kissing a path down his throat and his chest, he had the fortitude to stop her.

  Then she found herself pinned beneath him. “You’ve taught me that ladies come first.”

  “I’m not a lady.”

  “You’re better than that.” He nuzzled the delicate skin at the base of her jaw. “You’re a temptress.” He breathed across the damp skin just to feel her tremble. “A goddess.” He scraped his teeth down her throat. “A siren.” He kept inching down her body with open-mouthed kisses. “And I’m gonna make you scream like a banshee.”


  “Why?”

  “Because you’re the one who mentioned that we don’t gotta be quiet out here.” He teased her a bit more. “Ever come so hard that you screamed?”

  She snorted. “That is a myth.”

  He smiled against that glorious curve of her hip. “Is that a challenge?”

  “It’s a fact.”

  “Really.”

  “I’m a whore and a madam of a whorehouse and any screams I hear are pure theatrics.”

  Jonas chuckled. “Gonna prove you wrong, Ruby girl.”

  She arched up at the first contact of his tongue wiggling into the secret spot just below the rise of her mound.

  He dove in, growling at the musky-sweet taste of her. Spreading her thighs wide enough to accommodate his shoulders because he planned on staying there a while.

  Her first orgasm happened quickly; he barely started sucking on her clit and he felt the throbbing contraction of her intimate tissues against his face.

  Ruby gasped and clutched his hair as she arched closer, but no scream.

  His second attempt involved his fingers and just the tip of his flickering tongue on her clit. Her legs quaked, and she babbled—begged, really—but when she fell over the edge into bliss after a longer climb, she said his name over and over like a mantra but the scream he craved remained elusive.

  “Jonas,” she panted, “enough,” trying to scoot away from him.

  He held fast to her thighs when he looked up at her across the soft cushion of her belly.

  Their eyes met. Hers were sated and yet somehow, still hungry.

  His cocky expression likely annoyed her but he’d earned it. “What, my love?”

  “Get up here and fuck me.”

  “I will.” He burrowed his tongue into her channel, lapping at the sweet proof of her arousal. “But first I wanna hear you really let go, darlin’.” He sucked her pussy lips past his teeth and rubbed her pouting pearl with his top lip.

  “You’re teasing me! Stop.”

  “Never.” He tormented her with the erotic movement of his mouth until she swore at him. He chuckled and the vibration against her tender flesh had her cussing him even as she moaned louder. He eased back long enough to say, “That’s it. Scream for me, darlin’. Scare the birds from the trees with the sound of your joy.”