Chapter 9

Astride the gray quarter once more, Caleb crossed the great swath of swaying gold. Ever hotter, the sun’s unyielding fire beat on his back, and he wiped perspiration from his face with a shirt sleeve.

An early morning tap on the hotel room door had startled him awake. Under the thin blanket and tight to him, Erin had also tensed as long, sweat-matted tresses rose from his chest. With only the faintest glow through the still-open window, chilly air had finally succeeded in driving off the heat of their nighttime exertions.

“Who is it?” he’d called out.

“Grimley. Sunday. Warehouse is shut. Boss says head to the livery. There’s a package needs deliverin’. Double eagle.”

“Twenty-five.”

“Take it up with the colonel.”

After that exchange, footsteps had faded away. Erin had dipped to give his lip a playful tug with her teeth.

“Mmm, such a commanding voice, Mr. Warner.”

“Like that, huh?” he’d replied, running a hand along the silken curve of a firm buttock.

“Oh, yes.” His gentle squeeze of quivering softness had teased a shaky moan from the woman. “Mmm, very, very much, Mr. Warner. You possess such wonderful hands.”

A chuckle had escaped him as memories of Teacup’s quiet voice snuck into his skull. “So I’ve heard.”

“Hmm”—she’d unleashed the strangest, deepest moan while lifting her rear into his roaming digits—”there must be quite the bevy of women chasing you, Mr. Warner.”

“Chasing?” He scoffed. “Nope.”

The simple truth of his declaration had lifted a weight from him. Since his arrival, yes, enjoyed the company of two whores, a single encounter with each. The widow and her daughter? Nah, neither seemed the chasing type. Besides, nothing had occurred that would drive them to do so.

When he’d said no more, Erin again settled onto his chest to lie still, letting his hands roam a velvety spine. The most adorable whimpers slithered from her trembling lips until...

Overhead, a shadow whipped past.

A bird was swooping across the prairie. While tracking the distant shape, zooming lower with wings spread, he tugged on the hat brim to shade his eyes. A hawk. On the hunt, seeking rodents too slow to make their dens before the sun had risen.

The symbology made his jaw clench.

Erin’s quiet words came to him. No, not those muttered after Grimley’s departure. The earlier ones murmured sometime during the night.

Once more they’d coupled; that time, with her legs trapped against his chest and him bent over her, the hunger-filled married delight had been well and truly used. Tamed into utter silence, but for the rapid breaths battering his grin. In his shadow, the radiant smile up at him while accepting a “mighty staff’s” languid, forceful pulses announced her enjoyment of his “primal mating style.”

After he’d released her and rolled onto his back, she’d laid beside him, unmoving but for tremors that propelled quiet whimpers into the darkness. Once her breathing had slowed, soft curves, sticky with sweat, had pressed against him. Both sharp nipples were heated daggers, stabbing his ribs.

“Hmm, Mr. Warner. You are indeed one delightful young man. A true stud, in every sense of the word.” After a quiet smack of her lips, nothing but silence until a lower voice had added, “Suppose you must have more than a few questions. Do you wish to know, um, how—”

“Nope.” A turn of his head revealed shadow-shrouded pools. “Not really.”

For a good long time, more of that silence, but her gaze remained steady on his face. Delicate fingers, wandering his chest; gentle sweeps of shiny nails, tracing his muscles. When she’d made no move to leave him, he’d unleashed a heavy breath.

“Money, Mr. Warner.” Her digits swirled lower. “Freddy’s family is quite well-off. I’ve no idea how my father gathered the savings to send me to the finest of schools, nor how he arranged my presentation to Freddy. My husband fell in love at first sight. And I’ve learned to return that affection. We make our relationship work. From the very beginning, he accepted my ... needs.”

“Needs?”

“Mm-hmm.” Air hissed, heating his face, when shaky fingers discovered hardening flesh. “Then one night, he confessed.”

“To what?”

“His desire to witness such an encounter.” After a giggle, she’d bent to nip his shoulder as the fist glided along his shaft. “I agreed, and together we arranged the event. At first, my poor husband was quite stunned. With him, I’m not ... well, like I perform within powerful grasps such as yours.”

“And that works?”

“It has so far, Mr. Warner. Of course, we must maintain a tight level of discretion, you understand?”