Beauty and the Beasts [Bride Train 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

“Women are fickle creatures and tend to change their mind. When you understand the situation you’ll—”

“I won’t be changing my mind.”

“And I won’t give up.” Luke thrust out his jaw. “I intend to marry you, Sarah. You’re a strong woman, and I mean more than your ability to work hard. As the last of my line, I need strong sons. I will not let the Frost line die out with me. While I admire your determination”—he looked around the room before meeting her eyes in challenge—“this business of yours won’t last more than a week before the town council shuts you down.”

She pressed her fist against her pounding heart. “They won’t stop me.”

“Yes, they will.” He shook his head at her as if chastising a naughty child. “Jennet will be furious that an unmarried woman is operating a business. It’s bad enough that you’re located beside his bank. The fact that this building used to be his will make him livid.”

“I paid for the building and everything else!”

“You don’t understand.” Luke sighed in the same patronizing way as her uncle.

“No, it’s you who doesn’t understand, Mr. Frost. What if you were told that you couldn’t run your ranch because you were the wrong sex? No matter how good your arms, legs, and brain, you were considered incompetent because something swung between your legs. Wouldn’t you be outraged?”

“She’s got a point,” said Gabe mildly.

“Thank you! At least someone understands.” She smiled at Gabe, receiving a wink in reply.

“Town law is decided by those living in Tanner’s Ford.” Luke held up a hand. “That means
men
of good character who own businesses. I agree that you’re an intelligent woman, fully capable of operating a bakery. You’re a wonderful cook and baker, and Ben says you have a good grasp of business. But it’s obvious you’re not a man.”

“I think there was a compliment in there somewhere,” murmured Gabe.

“I expect John Tanner will speak for you, and Doc Henley, but the sheriff can’t vote. Hugh Jennet will speak against you of course, and so will Orville Rivers. You know the way things are. When the banker and mayor speak, the others follow.”

“Not all of them will vote against me. Smitty likes me, and my baking.”

Luke reached for a tart. He pulled his hand back at Gabe’s warning growl. “Smitty and the others will do whatever they must to keep their own businesses. Face it, Sarah. Once Jennet gets back from Helena, his shrew of a wife will force him to shut down your bakery.”

Ben had warned her, but she’d counted on the town’s greed being greater than their moral outrage. The one time Sarah met Eudora Jennet was in the mercantile. She’d curled up her lip, pulled her skirts back so Sarah wouldn’t contaminate them, and hissed, “Once a whore, always a whore!” It didn’t matter. Nothing did except fighting every step of the way, and winning.

“My bakery will bring lots of business into town,” she informed Luke. “I’ve already got orders for bread, biscuits, and pies from some of the valley ranches. Once the miners find out I’m here, they’ll come to Tanner’s Ford and buy things from the other businesses. Everyone will benefit.”

Luke took a step toward her and winced again. He glared at Gabe, who grinned back and chomped another tart.

“The issue is not your bakery business, Miss Unsworth.” Luke flicked his eyes over her. “It’s not even the fact you’re a woman. You don’t have a husband.”

She jammed her fists on her hips and stomped close to him.

“What has that to do with anything? I can work far better if I don’t have a man demanding I spend my time catering to him.”

Luke looked down his broken nose at her. “Single women are not allowed to own a business in Tanner’s Ford.”

“Ha! Sophie McLeod owns the hotel. Nora Dawes has a dress and millinery shop.”

“Neither
Mrs.
McLeod or
Mrs.
Dawes are single, as in unmarried,” drawled Luke. “They are widows who inherited from their husbands. The only reason you could buy this old building is because Ben Elliott signed for you.”

She raised her chin and straightened her shoulders. Ben was a lawyer, a wealthy Elliott, and she trusted him. Even more, she trusted his wife to keep him in line. Florence agreed with her about women’s rights, as did Ben’s outspoken sister, Jessie.

“The reason I asked Mr. Elliott to represent me was to make sure Mr. Jennet wouldn’t know who wished to purchase his assay office. He wouldn’t sell it if he knew it was me.”

Luke pointed his finger at her nose. He didn’t sneer at her, as she expected. She might even have seen a touch of compassion in his expression. But his words made up for it.

“You are a woman and, therefore, not a person under the law. You cannot sign a legal contract.” He straightened and winked. “Except to marry. You’re allowed to sign the register after the ceremony. That would solve your problem about being single.”

He smiled and waggled his eyebrows, giving her an absurd overemphasized leer. His attempt at humoring her, when the issue meant her life, infuriated her. She fisted her hands and gritted her teeth to stop herself from punching or berating him. Doing so would only prove she wasn’t suited as a business owner. Men could punch each other and laugh about it afterwards. If a woman raised her fist, even to defend herself, she was tarred with a very black brush.

“If you marry me, Miss Unsworth, I’ll let you bake all you like.”

She knew he didn’t mean operating her bakery. No, he’d want her tied to the stove at the Circle C ranch. She restrained the urge to kick him in the shin.

“For the last time, Mr. Frost, I will never marry and lose everything to an incompetent husband.”

“Incompetent?” His voice went up so high he had to cough. “Madam, I am not incompetent at anything required of a husband.” His gave her a toe-curling smile and dropped his voice to a husky growl. “All my husbandly parts are in good working order.”

Gabe snorted. “How would you know? You haven’t used them in how many years?”

Luke jerked his head toward his partner. Sarah couldn’t help snickering. She’d learned that few things are worse than insulting a man’s ability in bed. From her limited experience, most of them did little but fumble around and satisfy themselves. The only way they pleasured a woman was by leaving her bed so she could sleep in peace.

“If you don’t wish to lose those tarts, my friend, I suggest you keep your big mouth shut.” Luke raised an eyebrow. “Unless you wish me to tell the lady of your vast experience?”

Gabe’s eyes flashed to her. His face reddened before he quickly looked away. Had he done wild things with women, or was it the opposite? He pulled his thigh-length coat closed and cleared his throat.

Oh, yes, Gabe was primed and ready to go. The way her pussy purred eagerly, so was she. After all, she was an experienced woman with a taste for pleasure, and Gabe was a very intriguing, sensual man without much practical knowledge. She had learned about pleasure from the first man at the brothel. He took three long, arousing nights. The rest of her experience was far from pleasant but she’d survived it and now held her head high. Perhaps it was time to repay Gabe for rescuing her by showing him the way to satisfy a woman?

Ever since seeing the Circle C men at Sophie McLeod’s Christmas party, she’d had erotic fantasies about them. S
he imagined Oscar as a pirate, of course. She saw Luke as a dashing officer who swept her off her feet at a dance. When she fantasized about Gabe, she was an innocent virgin. He took hours to arouse and seduce her before proving that multiple orgasms were his specialty. She hadn’t thought of reversing the situation, until now. Nor had she expected her fantasy to come true.

A smile fought to emerge. Perhaps
she wouldn’t dry up like an old stick from lack of decent sex. Gabe looked like he might be amenable to learning, and enjoying, what was possible between a man and woman without a preacher saying words over them.

“It’s not how often you’ve done something,” growled Gabe to Luke. “It’s how much effort you put into it, and how much the lady appreciates that effort.”

Sarah licked her lips. “I’d appreciate some effort,” she murmured, smiling at Gabe.

He gulped at her, eyes wide. He shut his jaw with a snap, put the plate on the display counter, whirled around, and strode out the door to the street. Quick footsteps faded as Luke grabbed the two remaining tarts, one in each hand. He appraised her, nostrils flaring. His eyes relaxed into a lazy bedroom gaze as he ate. Unlike Gabe, who dropped a whole tart in his mouth, Luke nibbled. When he finished, he slowly licked the tips of his fingers. He curled his tongue around and sucked them, one at a time.

It was her turn to gulp. Her pussy, already tingling, buzzed from need. If he could move his tongue that way, he could do wonderful things to her. He smirked knowingly.

“Anytime you wish to receive”—he hesitated as if deciding which word to choose—“effort, just call on the Circle C. We’ll be pleased to prove we know how to find your, ah, cherry pit.”

He swaggered across the room and took her hand. He placed a round, warm object in her palm, still damp from his mouth. He rolled her fingers up around it and once more kissed her knuckles. One last saucy wink and he strolled out the door, whistling.

“Cherry pit?” She opened her hand. “Oh. Pit…clit,” she whispered. A jolt of need made her pussy spasm. She groaned and clutched his suggestive gift. “That’s it. I need a lover. Not Luke. He can’t wait to marry.” She bit her lip. “Sophie overheard Gabe say he hoped to settle down with a good woman one day. If I approach him the right way, he mightn’t be too shy to learn how to please his future wife.”

It was time to go to work at the hotel. She closed and barred the front doors, her mind buzzing. And what about Oz? His tightly braided lariats and whips were highly valued. Such work required excellent finger dexterity, which was almost as good as a busy tongue. The swashbuckling flirt with curly red hair had made it clear he was not interested in marriage.

He might be the perfect choice to ease her throbbing pussy.

“Nothing and no one will stop me from opening my bakery!”

“Sarah, I agree with you,” replied Sophie. “But the Jennets will do everything they can to shut you down.”

“I bought that empty building for a good bit of gold. I spent more getting a stove almost as good as yours. Ben said Jennet was happy a bakery was going in beside his bank.”

“You may have paid for the building, but you don’t own it. By law, Ben does.”

“Just because he signed the papers,” grumbled Sarah.

“You don’t have a father, brother, or adult male child to sign legal documents for you. The only reason I have this hotel is because my husband prepared a paper leaving it to me on his death. Even then, Jennet and Rivers did everything they could to force me to sell.”

“Luke said the only paper a woman could sign was a marriage register. As if I’d marry the egotistic, conceited…” She stopped before her mouth took over and added “arousing” to her list.

“The town council is led by men who believe a woman’s purpose in life is to serve their father, their husband, and then sons,” said Sophie. “You will lose the right to operate your bakery unless you marry.”

“But it won’t compete with you, or with the mercantile. My bakery will bring in business, which will help the other businesses. Why would having a husband change anything?” She spoke calmly although her stomach churned.

“Logic has nothing to do with this, Sarah. Men are threatened by the thought of an unmarried woman doing well. Wives are jealous that you have control of your life as a single woman, while they have to cater to their husband’s whims.”

Sarah could hold her temper no longer. She raised her voice, throwing her arms out as she stomped around the large kitchen. “You have your hotel, Nora Dawes has her millinery shop, even Mrs. Emslow has her boardinghouse! So why can’t I have a bakery?”

“We are widows. You’ve never been married. They think you’ll either entice men to stray, or will be encouraged to do so.”

Sarah slumped against the counter, shrinking into herself. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You can marry. That will satisfy the town council and—”

“Marry?” Furious terror erupted from deep inside, where the black hole of betrayal, shame, and despair lurked. “I bought the bakery to give me an income so I can be independent! The last thing I want is another man saying he loves me and will care for me, and then he…” She pressed her lips together, blinking furiously.

“And then he hurts you.” Sophie sighed, deep and long. “Whatever happened must have been horrid, but it was two weeks of your life. Don’t destroy the chance of happiness because of one selfish bully. Sheriff Chambers said most of Tierson’s victims killed themselves in shame after they were released. You’re stronger than that, and you have many people wanting to help you put it behind you.”

“I have put it behind me,” grumbled Sarah. “I bought a sturdy, unused building and turned it into a bakery. On Monday I will open my business and do very well. I will live there with Oliver, and visit with my friends, for the rest of my life.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “A cat can’t fill the place of a husband.”

“Oliver doesn’t give me orders, beat me, or take everything that was mine before marriage, including my body.” Sarah closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. It was one of the things Rosa and Miss Lily had taught her to help her survive those first few days of terrifying freedom.

“Luke would never beat you,” said Sophie. “He prides himself on being a gentleman. Even if you pushed him past his limits, he would go icy calm instead of wild.”

“Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter.” Sarah forced a smile. “Oliver’s warm fur and purring are very comforting in the night.”

Sophie stood up. “Maybe someday you’ll learn just how comforting, and enjoyable, it is to have a loving man hold you on cold nights.” She broke into a saucy smile. “As for tickles, warmth, and purring, Amelia would be the one to know. Between Gillis’s beard and hair, he’s got the closest thing to fur. Even better, ask Beth how wonderful she finds sharing Trace, Simon, and Jack. I think she’s the one that ends up purring.”