Authors: Stolen Ecstasy
Hannah Howell (3 page)
“He’d have her singing to the law in a minute,” Luke said.
“There’s the chance he won’t. He won’t want the scandal. She’ll have been with us for a while and that would have to come out.”
“And there’s always the chance he’ll hurry to toss me into someone else’s lap like before.” Leanne spoke the distasteful truth in a flat voice. “Then we’ll all be right back where we started. I’m tired,” she said, changing the subject sharply.
“I laid your bedding out over there, Hunter,” said Charlie.
Hunter pointed to it and looked at her. “Go to sleep then.”
She looked at the bedroll, then at him. He simply stared back at her. With a sigh she stood up, went over to the bedroll, and crawled in. At the moment, she could not think of anything else to do.
Turning her back on the men, she closed her eyes. Sleep was a long way off and she knew it. Although she was exhausted, she had too much on her mind to sleep, too much to think about.
Her mother was not her mother. So who was? Her father was a man who dutifully paid for her upkeep but plainly wanted nothing to do with her. She did not even know who the man was, except for his name. Suddenly she felt like a total stranger to herself. Her whole life had been a lie.
Knowing there was little to be found by staring into a past she could not fathom, she turned her thoughts to the present, only to find as great a muddle. Since she had no gun, no horse and no shoes, and everyone in town thought her part of the outlaw gang, escape seemed impossible. Even if she found the means to escape, and the opportunity, there was no place to escape to.
For a brief moment she fought the urge to cry. It would accomplish nothing and she really did not want to reveal such a weakness before the outlaws. Then, as the first tear oozed out from beneath her eyelid, she decided that if anyone deserved a good cry, she did. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she gave in to her tears. She prayed Hunter would not come to bed too soon.
As he sipped his coffee, Hunter surreptitiously watched his reluctant and all too attractive guest. He was not sure he believed all she had told him, but, as she had said, why would she make up such a ridiculous tale? An accomplished liar would never use such a wild story. She was either telling the truth, or she was a very bad liar.
He shook his head. She had looked him straight in the eye when she told her tale. If she was a bad liar telling a poor lie, there would have been some sign. Implausible as the tale was, he was beginning to think it true, or mostly so.
There was one part of her tale he was not so sure of. From what the sheriff had said, she had a reputation in town. While it was highly possible the man Clovis had lied to puff himself up, it was also possible that she was lying about seducing the man. He had discovered early in life that women were very good at lying about that sort of thing. Well, if she was no virgin, he might enjoy her himself.
And that, fool, could land you in even more trouble
, he scolded himself.
, he scolded himself.
The last thing he needed now was any sort of entanglement, even one of the most basic sort. Some instinct warned him that with Leanne it would never be a simple matter of gratifying his lust. But in his mind’s eye he could see that small perfect breast, that silken ivory skin, and he was not sure his lust would tolerate being ignored, especially not when he was forced to keep her close at hand.
Suddenly he realized the others were turning in. Cursing softly, he moved to do the same. He had claimed the girl as his and he had to act as if he meant to take her, or he would have more trouble than he needed. The minute he showed any reluctance or disinterest, Luke would step in.
Sitting down on the edge of his bedroll, he yanked his boots off. What really had him concerned was the reason he had pulled his gun on Luke. The sharing of a woman only led to trouble, for few men could do it fairly or calmly, and even fewer women would tolerate it. Neither could he tolerate rape, and he knew the girl would have fought Luke as hard as she had fought the sheriff. Neither was the reason he had pulled his gun, however. He had simply loathed the idea of Luke touching her. His statement that she was his had more truth to it than he liked.
It took only a moment after slipping beneath the blanket for Hunter to know his companion was not asleep. An instant later he knew she was weeping and he silently cursed. Women’s tears never failed to move him. He could not ignore them, even when he knew they were simply a ploy. He turned on his side, noting that her slim back shook only faintly as she tried to hide her distress.
“Crying will help nothing.”
“I am not crying.” She cursed softly for her voice was shaking and hoarse, a sure sign that she lied.
“Of course not. Just sniveling.” He had to clench his hand to keep from caressing her soft, thick golden hair.
“And what if I am? I have every right to be upset.” She turned onto her back and glared at him.
“I got you out of jail.”
“How kind. It might have been nicer if you had not dragged me into this den of thieves.”
She could see his eyes narrow and wondered at the wisdom of her words. It was hardly clever to insult this man. He literally held her life in his hands. She was too tired and upset to be concerned about that, however.
“You’re not the smartest little thing, are you.”
“Clearly not or I wouldn’t be in this twice-cursed muddle.”
“Crying won’t get you out of it either.” He felt uncomfortably moved by the moonlit sight of her tearstained face.
“I know that,” she snapped, “but I have a right to a moment’s weakness.” When he produced a handkerchief she took it, studied it a moment to assure herself it was clean, then put it to use in wiping her tears away.
“You put yourself in this mess.”
“I did not ask that lump of dog spit—”
“Dog spit?”
“Clovis—to maul me. It’s hardly my fault that the woman I thought was my mother is not. I certainly did not ask my father to drop me in her lap and pay her for her poor mothering. It never occurred to me that Charity would believe Clovis instead of me, or that she would throw me out with only my nightgown. And it is hardly surprising that when I came upon the sheriff who was duly elected to protect the town, I asked him for help. I never expected
him
to be part of a bank robbery. And then you just left me there to face that mob.” She blew her nose.
him
to be part of a bank robbery. And then you just left me there to face that mob.” She blew her nose.
“Since you were not one of this pack of thieves, I hardly thought you would wish to come along.”
“Of course I didn’t. I never in my wildest dreams thought everyone would accuse me. Then I get tossed into jail like some common criminal and that pile of horse droppings attacks me. And now look at me. I am out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of bankrobbers, the town thinking I am a thief, and I don’t even have a pair of shoes. I have earned a good cry.”
“Earned or not, it still won’t get you anywhere.”
“That is quite clear.” She turned her back to him again. “Why did you come back for me?”
“Because you knew about the sheriff.”
“As if that mob would have listened to me.”
“Someone might have—eventually.”
She frowned as she thought about what he had said. Perhaps she should try to get back to town, to make someone listen to her.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“Because I know what I’d think in the same situation. It won’t work. One—I have no intention of letting you slip free to start blubbering your side of the story to anyone. Two—even if you got to town the sheriff would hardly let you say how-do. Three—You are now on the run with this pack of thieves and that goes against you. I broke you out of jail, remember?”
“I broke myself out of jail. You just happened to be there when I started to run.”
“That won’t be the way the sheriff tells it.”
The truth of that quiet statement hit her so hard she gasped. Sheriff Martin had his own neck to worry about. He would paint her as black as possible. She doubted he had wasted any time in telling anyone who would listen that her desperado friends had returned to break her out of jail. If she went back to town, she would be lucky if she was not immediately hanged. It was enough to make her want to weep some more.
“Don’t start bawling again.”
“Oh, shut your big mouth.”
“You know, some folk in your position would have the wisdom to keep the edge off their tongue.”
The chill in his voice hardly troubled her at the moment. “Some folk in my position would put a bullet in their head.”
Her voice was so flat he could not help but wonder if she was contemplating just such an act. It alarmed him, but what alarmed him more was the thrill of panic that shot through him.
“Don’t be an idiot.”
“It would certainly relieve you of a burden.” The dark thought had only been a fleeting one, but she did not feel inclined to tell him that.
“And hand me another one. I’d find myself trying to explain how it was you ended up dead. Even if you’re thought a thief, that wouldn’t go well for me.”
He spoke so callously that she was annoyed. “Your concern for my well-being humbles me.”
“Go to sleep.”
“What? No ravishment? Well, the world is full of wonders.”
“I don’t rape women,” he ground out.
“No, just steal every last dime from hardworking people.”
He glared at her back. “I see you’ve changed your mind about suicide. Now you’re trying to get me to murder you.”
Slowly she turned to look at him. A tiny alarm went off inside her. He looked furious. He also looked disturbingly handsome. She decided she would be wise to concentrate on his fury. Unfortunately, she was in no mood to soothe that anger.
“Are you going to tell me you’re some sort of Robin Hood?”
“Yeah. I steal from the rich—them—and give to the poor—me.”
“Such philanthropy. I am overwhelmed.”
“You will be strangled in a minute if you don’t shut your mouth and go to sleep. Or maybe there’s another reason you’re still awake.”
She was not sure she liked the way he smiled at her. “I just want to be sure I’m wide-eyed and alert when the law catches up with you. That’s one hanging I don’t want to miss.”
“Is that so? I thought maybe you were waiting for me to join you in that snug little bed.”
Before she could deride the very bed he referred to, he was on top of her. She gave a soft cry of alarm as he pinned her beneath him. Although her heart beat so fast it was nearly painful, she fought to hide her fright. Frowning sternly, she glared at him. When she spoke she was pleased to hear that her voice sounded cool and calm.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
Hunter had to admire her. He could feel the rapid pace of her heart, could sense her fear. Nevertheless, she acted calm. Her bravery might be an act, but it was a good one.
“Giving you what you want.”
“I did not realize I had expressed a desire to be squashed flat. Remove yourself.”
“Damn if you don’t sound like royalty ordering the serfs around. Did you learn that at some snooty Eastern school?”
As she opened her mouth to reply, he kissed her. Leanne was too stunned to move. At first it was the fact that he was kissing her that shocked her; then it was the way the kiss was making her feel. She should be frightened and revolted. Instead, she began to feel weak inside and rather warm. To her great dismay she realized that she liked being kissed by this bank robber.
When he nudged his tongue between her lips to stroke the inside of her mouth, she found no strength to resist. It felt too good to fight. She could only pray that he would not guess her response.
Slowly, and with a reluctance he was loath to admit to, Hunter drew away. He had never been so affected by a mere kiss. His insides were knotted with hunger. For the first time in his life he actually, if briefly, contemplated forcing himself on a woman. He moved away from her and heartily wished he could have left her in Martin’s less than tender care.
Looking at her wide-eyed face did not really help him regain his calm. She had not once moved beneath him, but the heated response of her full lips had told him of her desire. It was clear it had surprised her as much as it had him.
“You didn’t learn that at any finishing school.”
That cool insult snapped her out of her shock and she glared at him. “Oh, shut up. Are you quite done?”
He wondered what she would say if he told her exactly how much more he felt inclined to do, then decided he had given her enough to think about. “Yup.”
Hissing a curse, she turned on her side, her back to him. “Then perhaps I can get some rest now.”
Lying on his back and crossing his arms beneath his head, he murmured, “Be my guest.”
Chapter Three
“W
HAT IS THIS
?”
HAT IS THIS
?”
Leanne grimaced in disgust at the pile of clothes Hunter had just tossed at her feet. She knew they were clothes because of the buttons. Other than that, they looked like little more than a bundle of dirty rags.
“Your clothes.”
“What did you do? Rob the town drunk?”
“They are cleaner than you think.”
“They would have to be.”
“Put them on.”
“Not if I was stark naked.”
“With only that thin, torn nightgown to wear, you probably will be in a day or two.”
There was an uncomfortable amount of truth in that, she mused. Sighing in resignation, she gingerly picked up the clothes.
“Now, the question is, where can I dress in privacy?” She frowned as he took her by the arm and strode towards a few closely growing trees. “You needed only to point the way.”
“Behind those.” He gave her a gentle push towards the trees.
“Surely you don’t intend to lurk so close?”
“Surely I do. Hurry up. I want to head out.”
As she stepped behind the clump of trees, she realized that they did not provide much cover. She could see his broad back through the leaves. At least he had had the courtesy to turn around, she thought crossly as she hurried to dress.
She had often wondered what it would be like to wear men’s clothing, but what she had envisioned had been a fine coat and fashionable trousers, not worn Levis and a faded flannel shirt. Shaking her head, she yanked on the trousers and hoped she would not feel too strange or immodest wearing them. About the only thing she was sure of was how good the rawhide boots felt on her feet.
Hunter turned to stare at her when she stepped out from behind the trees. He swallowed hard as he looked her up and down. The clothes fit her far too well. He had gained some sense of her figure when she had been beneath him briefly last night, but his estimation had been far short of reality. The worn, soft clothes hugged every slim inch of her lithe frame, delineating with discomforting exactitude the shape of her breasts and the curve of her hips. He was not sure that she was much better than naked. Even her torn, thin nightgown had seemed more modest.
“That’ll do.” He spoke curtly as he grasped her by the arm and tugged her toward the horses.
Leanne found his reaction a little strange. But then, nothing understandable had happened to her for what seemed like years.
“I don’t know what your trouble is now. I did as you asked.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Then why are you being such a sorehead? Does waking up on the wrong side of the law make you irritable?”
“I would love to stand here bickering, but we have a lot of miles to cover.”
When he tossed her onto the back of his horse, she briefly thought about bolting. However, the thought had barely formed when he swung up behind her. It was obvious that, at least for now, he did not intend to give her the slightest chance to flee. She would bide her time, she decided as they started on their way. He would have to ease his guard sometime.
“And might I be so impertinent as to ask just where we are going?”
“Mexico.”
“Ah, yes, the retreat of all good desperadoes. It’s a long way. There’s a lot of land between here and there.”
“Sure is,” he drawled as he nudged his mount into motion.
“What are you doing all the way up here in Colorado?”
“Emptied all the banks down that way.”
Ignoring that sarcastic remark, she drawled, “You’ve got a long way to go before you reach home territory. That means there’s all the more chance of your being caught and hanged. There has to be at least one honest lawman between here and Mexico.”
“I wouldn’t place any wagers on it.”
By the time they camped for the night, Leanne was unable to think clearly about anything, let alone plot any escape. Her only really coherent thought as she numbly ate the beans served her was that she would have to take over the cooking. She was certain that if the constant riding did not kill her, the men’s cooking would. Promising herself she would begin in the morning, she staggered off to bed. When Hunter slid in beside her, she was too tired to do more than grunt crossly and sidle over to give him room.
Daylight brought a new surprise. Hunter was gone.
It was not until she had relieved herself—with Charlie lurking embarrassingly close—and washed up and begun making her breakfast that she noticed that Hunter was not the only one gone. Only Charlie and the wounded Jed were still with her. And Jed was still sleeping.
Later, as she sat by the fire sipping her first cup of decent coffee for days, she plotted and discarded several plans for escape. She sensed that Charlie and Jed were the weakest in the gang. There might not be a better chance for her to break free. Considering the direction they were headed, she was sure Pueblo could not be too far away. It surprised her that Hunter had left only those two to guard her.
Unfortunately, her planning was interrupted by a new problem: Jed. The wounded man looked decidedly unwell, and Charlie kept glancing worriedly at his friend. Cursing softly over what she considered a treacherously soft heart, she rose and walked over to Jed. Even as she reached the man’s side, Charlie loomed up beside her.
“You just get away from him. You’ve done him enough harm.”
“It was hardly a mortal wound.”
She frowned at Jed, who was giving her a weak glare. He looked awful. His color was a sickly shade of green, and sweat beaded on his face. Though she found it hard to believe that a gunshot wound in the foot could make a man so ill, she knew improper care could make even the smallest scratch dangerous.
“You did take the bullet out, didn’t you?” she addressed the question to Charlie, who was leaning against the tree Jed lay under.
“Yeah, with this.” Charlie briefly stopped cleaning his filthy nails with his knife to show it to her.
“Cleaned off first, of course.”
“Cleaning it couldn’t make it no sharper.”
Inwardly, Leanne cursed. She had a good idea of what ailed Jed. It was not something she was eager to deal with. Nevertheless, she could not turn her back on the problem. If the man’s wound had become infected, leaving it untended could kill him. That was not something she wished to have on her conscience.
“Let me see his foot.”
“What for? You’ve done it enough hurt, if you ask me.”
“I did not ask you, Charles. Now let me see his foot.”
When a wide-eyed Charlie scrambled to obey, Leanne decided she had sounded as imperious as she had meant to. It was astounding, she mused, what could be accomplished with the appropriate tone of voice.
Then Charlie bared Jed’s foot. It took Leanne a moment to stifle the urge to be sick. She fought to gain some semblance of calm. She did not think she had ever seen a dirtier foot.
“Don’t you ever bathe?”
“Sure I do. Nearly once a month. ’Bout that time now, ain’t it, Charlie?”
“Reckon so, Jed. Can’t rightly recall.”
“I’m not surprised. Charles, get me some water.”
“What for?”
“To clean this foot. It’s infected, poisoned. If nothing is done, it could kill him. That filth is what’s helping to make him look like death warmed over.”
“I look that bad?”
Charlie stared at his friend for a moment, then nodded. “You do look poorly, Jed.”
“Reckon you better get the water, then.”
Once Charlie got her some water Leanne began to wash Jed’s foot. She had Charlie heat up another pot of water as she did so. Everything went smoothly until she asked Charlie for his knife.
“No sirree, ma’am.”
“I need the knife to lance this wound.”
“Why?”
“It needs to be opened. Then I’ll use the heated water to draw out the poisons.”
“Yeah, and just maybe you’ll use this knife to stick us and then run.”
“Now, I might be able to—er, stick one of you, but I would guess the other would act quickly. I couldn’t possibly kill both of you. As far as Jed is concerned, if I wanted him dead, I only need to leave this foot to rot.”
“Rot?” Jed looked at his friend with pleading in his eyes. “Give her the knife, Charlie.”
After careful deliberation Charlie finally gave her the knife. Leanne cleaned it, then held it in the fire for a moment. Once it had cooled some, she had Charlie hold Jed still as she lanced the wound. Quickly she began to place cloths soaked in the hot water. on the wound. She idly wondered where Charlie had gotten the rags until she recognized the modest lace trim of her nightgown. Shaking her head, she continued until she felt she had drawn out as much infection as she could for the time being. After pouring Charlie’s whiskey over the wound she sat back to view her handiwork.
The injury did look better. Jed, however, looked pale. She decided it was the pain she had had to inflict that had made him look so bad.
“The knife, ma’am.”
Sighing, Leanne placed the knife in Charlie’s outstretched hand. “Better scrub it off first.”
“You just gonna leave it open like that?” Jed asked as Charlie washed off his knife.
“For now. I intend to treat it once more. Perhaps twice more.”
“You ain’t going to be hacking at it with Charlie’s knife again, are you?”
“I did not hack at it. I lanced the wound. And, no, I won’t. I’ll just do the hot water again.” She looked at Charlie. “You had best get some more water heated, Charles.”
It was mildly amusing when Charlie scurried off to the nearby creek in meek obedience. He had clearly forgotten that he was supposed to be guarding her. Jed was useless as a guard. It was the perfect opportunity to escape, but she could not take it. Jed’s wound still needed work and a half-finished treatment was almost as bad as none.
Twice more she treated Jed’s wound. It was only then that she felt confident she had gotten out the poisons. She stitched the wound, then wrapped it in a clean bandage. When Charlie moved to put Jed’s socks back on, she stopped him.
“Those are filthy. Doesn’t he have a clean pair?”
“These’re clean. Washed them when we had a bath.”
“You’ll wash them out, Charles, before you put them on his feet.”
“You can wear things out washin’ ’em too much, you know,” Charlie grumbled even as he moved to wash Jed’s socks.
Once the socks were scrubbed, Leanne draped them over a stick and held them over the fire to dry. She instructed Charlie to strip Jed and scrub him down. She ignored their grumbling, a grumbling that grew louder when Charlie was done washing Jed and she told him he now had to scrub out the man’s clothes.
“I ain’t been this clean in a dog’s age.”
Glancing at Jed and almost smiling at the way he clutched his blanket around him like some modest maiden, she drawled, “No doubt—and that’s why your foot went bad so fast.”
“You learn doctoring at that school back East that Hunter says you been to?” Charlie began to drape Jed’s wet clothes on the tree.
“No, but I assisted a doctor back there for a while. When he came to tend one of the teachers, I helped, and he noticed I had some aptitude for the work. Since he was very short of help, he asked the headmistress if I might assist him from time to time. The headmistress always stressed the importance of good works so she was quick to agree.”
Seeing that Charlie was finished with the washing, she mused aloud about how nice it would be to have some fresh meat to cook. It did not take many such hints before the man slipped away. The only thing that surprised her was the speed with which he returned with two gutted and skinned rabbits for her to cook.
Hunter frowned as he neared the camp. Something smelled suspiciously good. However it was not what was cooking that immediately grabbed his attention when the camp came into view. Dismounting, he wondered crossly where Tom and Luke had disappeared to. With only Jed and Charlie for guards, he was very surprised to see Leanne still in camp. He found it hard to believe that she had not seen what useless guards the pair were.
“Where the hell are Luke and Tom?” He strode up to the fire and tossed down the supplies he had brought.
“They went to town, Hunter,” Charlie replied.
“Why? They knew I was getting supplies.”
Recalling the crude remarks she had overheard Jed and Charlie making concerning what Luke and Tom had gone after, Leanne murmured, “I suspect they did not feel you would return with what they felt a need for.”
Looking at her, he suddenly became fully aware of what she was cooking. “Where the hell did that come from?”
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