Circle Eight: Vaughn (5 page)

“Much more, darling, much more.” He released her hips, giving her control.

She lifted her hips and then lowered them, finding her own rhythm. His mouth continued to lap at her aching breasts while his hand found her nubbin again. The combination of incredible carnality was almost too much to bear. She trembled with another impending release. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she struggled to understand it all.

“Don’t cry, Ellie. Just let go.” He kissed her then, sweetly, gently.

Elizabeth exploded, screaming her release to the heavens. She couldn’t see for the stars exploding in her eyes. Her body clenched around his and he gripped her hips once again, plunging deep to find his own climax.

She collapsed on top of him, his skin to hers. Elizabeth was shaken to her core. Nothing had prepared her for what she’d just experienced. She wondered if she would ever find it again with another man. This had been the perfect initiation to relations between men and women.

She would never forget Vaughn Montgomery.

Vaughn followed the smell of coffee out to a kitchen. He’d barely noticed it before now, but it was large, clean and held the biggest table he’d ever seen. Must have been built to house all the dozens of family Elizabeth apparently had. A pot of coffee sat on the stove, hot and waiting. With something akin to relief, he took a tin cup from a hook below the shelf over the sink and poured the dark nectar.

At the first sip, he closed his eyes and groaned. The second sip went down faster. Before he realized it, the cup was empty and he was slurping at drops. The coffee pot called to him again. He would make more if he finished it. For now, he needed more. Desperately. He was out of sorts and needed the coffee to ground him, bring him back to reality. The experience with Elizabeth had shaken him.

He felt better, although his body was sore and a bit wobbly. Of course, having sex with Elizabeth had been a bad idea, yet he couldn’t regret it. She represented all that was good in the world, all that he wasn’t. It had been sweet, satisfying. Her passion was unmatched. She’d humbled him and taken him to his knees in more than one way.

She had made the coffee so she was around somewhere. Movement out the window caught his eye. She must be out back in the morning sun. He poured himself a second cup and walked toward the back door. Although he didn’t know what he would say to her, he had to see her, to speak to her. He didn’t know her but somehow he needed to.

As he walked outside, the warmth of the early morning only hinted at the heat of the day that would arrive soon. Birds twittered while squirrels chattered to each other amongst the hum of insects. The sky was a vibrant blue, so sharp it hurt his eyes. It was a beautiful day.

Elizabeth stood by a rather impressive garden; rows of plump vegetables and lush leaves reached for the rays of sun. Her long braid lay parallel to her spine, accentuating her tall, elegant form. She appeared like Eve, the beautiful female who represented the first woman, tempting and alluring. Her plain brown dress hid an incredible curvy form, full of passion and a depth he’d never experienced with another. She was exquisite.

His stomach lurched right along with his heart. Vaughn almost fell off the back porch. He had known this woman only a few days, most of which he’d been in and out of consciousness. She couldn’t affect him that much that fast. It wasn’t possible. He couldn’t accept that.

He stumbled toward her, determined to rid himself of the ridiculous notion he needed this woman. “Elizabeth?”

She startled at the sound of his voice and the cup of coffee in her hand jerked, spilling all over her hand. “Shit!”

He couldn’t help but smile. She definitely knew how to cuss, which he found charming. Most women wouldn’t know how to cuss much less let one fly. Then she dropped the cup to the grass and held her hand to her side. She’d been burned.

“I’m sorry. Are you all right?” He reached for her hand and she pulled away. Vaughn told himself he wasn’t affected by her rejection.

“Just burned a bit. I’ve had worse.” She squinted at him, the sun doing its level best to make it difficult to see. “You’re up and about.” She shaded her eyes with her other hand.

“I am. Thanks to your care.” He owed her a great deal, not the least of which was his life.

“I didn’t do anything special.” She looked away and toward the garden. He didn’t want to make things awkward between them by pushing her. Elizabeth was not experienced with men and being intimate with one was new to her, even if she had a natural passion.

“The garden is the best I’ve seen in a long time.” He had too many memories of working in the garden and they bubbled up inside him.

“It needs to be weeded. We used to take turns. When Eva realized we would keep trading off, she made us all weed.” Elizabeth made a face. “Made it into a competition the boys always won.”

“We used to do the same thing.” The smell of the earth, the heat, the gritty taste of the raw vegetables.

She looked surprised. “You grew up on a farm?”

“More or less.” The first ten years of his life were nothing to brag about. “My brother and I were adopted by a farmer and his wife.” A lump formed in his throat when he spoke of Abraham. It had been so long since he had thought of the tow-headed, gap-toothed boy who never grew to be a man.

“Ah. We always weeded on Tuesdays. I hated Tuesdays.” She glanced at her hands. “Burning coffee was nothing compared to the blisters after a hot summer day of weeding.”

Memories assailed him. “That’s the truth. We would race to the end of the row.”

“If you finished first, you got the first bath. That meant a lot with eight children. Especially on garden day.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “My brothers were dirty critters. I’ll bet you were too.”

“I was, but no longer. I swore to never pull another weed in my life.” His jaw tightened. “Abraham pulled his last too.”

“The tomato plants always had the worst of it, especially the slugs. Nobody wanted that row so I always took it.” She touched the leaf of a thick tomato plant. “What they didn’t realize was the dirt was loamier around them because the sun didn’t reach it. The weeds were easier to pull.” Her smile was more of a grimace. “So I finished before they did.”

“I would challenge everyone by taking two rows, swearing I would finish before them. It was always the tomato plants.” He grinned, finding Elizabeth was a kindred spirit. “And I usually won too.”

She nodded, the lines between her eyes deepening as she frowned. “What did you get for finishing first?”

“Food.” The word jumped out of his mouth like a sneeze, unexpected and out of control. He wanted to snatch it out of the air and stuff it back in his mouth. Vaughn didn’t want sympathy and he braced himself for it.

Elizabeth, however, surprised him again. “That’s a powerful motivator.” In her eyes he saw respect but no more than that. She had obviously lived through hard times herself. He wouldn’t ask her about them. Some things should remain private.

“Elizabeth?” The older woman’s voice tinkled faintly through the open door.

“I need to see what Martha needs and then put some butter on my hand.” She walked past him, leaving behind her fresh scent and the faint smell of lemons.

He followed her into the house, picking up both cups from the grass. Breakfast would be welcome, his stomach definitely agreed. He knew how to cook but he also needed to sit down for a bit. Exhaustion weighed him down, reminding him he had not completely recovered from his beating by the Gibsons.

After rinsing the cups in the sink, he grabbed a third and poured all three cups. Elizabeth walked into the kitchen and her gaze went to the coffee. She appeared to contemplate what she was going to say before she spoke.

“Could you bring that to Martha? I’m going to make some breakfast, or at least attempt to.” Her matter-of-fact approach confused him. After what he’d shared with her, she should be softer toward him, not treating him as though they were polite strangers. Even if they didn’t know each other that well, they sure as hell were not strangers. It was if she didn’t trust him to even bring Martha coffee.

He took two of the cups and made his way to Martha’s room. The older woman smiled broadly when she saw him.

“Well, ain’t that a hoot? I get a young handsome man serving me this morning.” She cackled and patted the chair next to the bed. “Plant your handsome self here and let’s chat.”

Vaughn sat down with a smile for Martha. She must have been a hell-raiser as a young woman. He might have fallen for her if she were forty years younger. Although she wasn’t a blood relation, Martha must have had an influence on Elizabeth. They were both plain speaking women who weren’t afraid to let the words fly.

“Tell me about yourself. You plan on taking up with our Ellie?”

Vaughn shook his head. If only Martha knew what he’d done already with Ellie. He regretted it but at the same time, he wouldn’t have traded it for anything. It had been exquisite and pure. Something he hadn’t felt in quite some time, if ever.

A banging sounded from somewhere in the house. Perhaps Ellie was taking out her frustration with being spooked. He opened his mouth to speak when he realized it wasn’t her making that noise. It was someone at the door.

His senses went on full alert even as he rose to his feet. Danger lurked where he hid and these ladies deserved none of it.

“What is it?” Martha tried to peer out the door but there was nothing to see from her vantage point.

“I’m not sure.” He glanced down and grimaced. No weapon, clothes too small and barefoot. It wasn’t a good start. Voices echoed through the house and he recognized at least one of them. Tobias Gibson. “Shit.”

Before he could apologize for swearing, Martha grabbed his hand in a nearly punishing grip. “Don’t let anything happen to her. That girl is a treasure, one of the good ones in the world and we damn well need her. You promise me you will keep her safe.”

He didn’t need Ellie, the very thought was ridiculous. However, he damn sure wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. As he moved away from the bed, Martha tugged on his hand. The old lady had hands like talons.

“There’s a pistol in my bureau and it’s loaded. Do what you got to.”

If he were surprised at the loaded pistol, he shouldn’t have been. Martha was a tough old dame and he liked her even more. He slid the drawer open and picked up Colt Patterson, pleased she used a solid weapon. He had expected a small ladies’ pistol, not a Colt. This ranch was full of ballsy women.

The gun was solid in his hand. He might have been barefoot and wearing pants that were too short but now he was armed. Tobias was a mean son of a bitch. No doubt he was the reason Vaughn wandered out naked and bleeding into the storm. There were moments he had lost during his time with the Gibsons, intentionally or not. Tobias wanted and Tobias took.

He crept out the door, keeping to the shadows. Lamplight threw a warm glow on the walls as he crept closer. He only hoped one shot from one pistol was enough to save Ellie and Martha.

The hackles on Elizabeth’s neck stood at attention. The three men on the porch stood in a semi-circle crowding the door. They were dressed in nondescript clothing, neckerchiefs and slouchy hats. None of them were clean-shaven and their hands had a month of dirt under the nails. Not an unusual sight for a Texan, especially one who worked on a ranch but something about these three didn’t sit right with her. Two of them were barely old enough to shave, while the middle one had a mean twist to his mouth.

“What do you want?” She kept her gaze on them although she wanted to snatch the rifle off its perch and point it at them.

“I’m looking for a man named O’Connor. He disappeared two days ago in the storm and we’re worried he ran into trouble.” The biggest one spoke, his voice low and scratchy.

“I don’t know anyone named O’Connor.” She wondered how many men wandered off in that storm and if this had anything to do with Mr. Montgomery. “What’s this all about?”

“He owes me somethin’ and I aim to collect it. The rest is my business, missy.”

“You’re on Circle Eight property so that makes it my business.” She stuck her chin in the air. “You need to leave. All of you.”

She reached up to grab the rifle when the stranger stepped up, nearly touching her. His breath washed over her face and she struggled to stand her ground. If he wasn’t dirty and threatening, he might have been handsome but darkness had twisted his features. Her heart pounded hard but she kept her expression steady, never betraying the panic that raced down her spine. Her big brother Matt’s voice echoed in her ear.

Don’t let them see you flinch, Ellie. Stay strong and aim true.

“Don’t lie to me, missy. I tracked him here and he ain’t left.” His expression was as hard as blue steel.

She reached up wrapped her hand around the stock of the rifle. Whoever these men were looking for, it wasn’t her concern. She had to protect the ranch, Martha and her guest, even if he was the man they sought. A Graham always looked after what was hers.

“I don’t know who you’re looking for and you need to leave my property.”

“Are you going to make us leave? You ain’t no bigger than a minute,” the stranger scoffed.

He was too close to pull the rifle down and aim. It left her with few options but she wasn’t about to give up.

“Don’t underestimate me, mister. I’ll make you leave.” She yanked the rifle down, banging the stranger on the head and her own shoulder on the way down. He reared back and took her with him.

She landed hard on top of him, pushing the breath from her lungs. She hung onto the rifle until the man beneath her yanked it from her hand. His brown eyes met hers.

“Seems like we’ve got a problem. Get her up.”

Before she could grab the weapon back, the men hooked her under her arms and pulled her to her feet. The air whooshed back in her lungs and she started fighting to be free. There was no way in hell she would let these bastards take her without a fight.

“Gibson!” Vaughn’s voice boomed across the great room.

The man on the floor jerked at the sound and scrambled to his feet. “There you are, O’Connor. I knewed you was here.” He pointed at Elizabeth. “You lied to me.”

“I did no such thing. This man’s name is Montgomery and you need to leave the Circle Eight!” Fury had taken hold, kicking fear out of its way. She kept her temper in check most days but at the threat these men posed, it burned like a wildfire. Heat swept through her and she bit the hand on her shoulder.