Much Ado About Madams (8 page)

She sniffed, still holding the underwear at arm’s length. “I refuse to wear your underwear. It’s positively indecent.”

“
Suit yourself.” He knew she’d have second thoughts real soon. The temperature would probably drop twenty degrees in the next hour. “But I’m not sharing my bedroll with a soggy woman.”

She tossed the long-handles back to him. “That is one thing I’m happy about. I wouldn’t dream of doing so, no matter what the circumstances.” She blew an escaped lock of blonde hair from her forehead. “This situation is…is...oooh!” She tossed up her hands, stomped off to the picnic blanket and sat down, wrapping the corners around her shoulders.

“
You at least ought to bring your blanket over here by the fire.”

Lucinda looked away from him. She didn’t have to write her contempt on a piece of paper—he knew when a woman had her mind made up. The last vestiges of light ducked behind the western mountains and any minute the cold would set in, then the wolves would start howling. He wondered how much chill it she’d take before she changed her mind. Or froze her pride off.

Reese fed the fire and took a drink of water to wash the nasty taste of lemonade out of his mouth. He couldn’t resist the urge to glance over to the beautiful, foolhardy woman perched like a statue clutching her blanket. Soon enough, she’d realize the error of her ways and crawl into bed with him. He settled his head on the saddle and pulled his hat over his face just enough so he could still sneak a peek at her.

“
Goodnight, darlin’.”

Odds were, he’d have a beautiful woman snuggled beside him inside half an hour.

Chapter 4

Aaa-ooooo!

One wolf called to another. Lucinda hoped they weren’t planning on inviting her to dinner—theirs. She strained to see through the evening dusk, hoping to spot the enemy before they saw her. Danger lurked everywhere, from the wolves howling in the hills, to the wolf sleeping under his Stetson on the other side of the campfire. The warm campfire.

She silently pleaded with the sun not to betray her but darkness settled over the meadow all too soon. The cool night breeze sliced through her wet bodice and probed her skin. Her dress hadn’t dried a bit and the only defense she had against the clammy material was goose bumps the size of thimbles.

Teeth chattering, her determination faltered to the point where she wasn’t quite sure just what she was determined about. How does one huddle in a ball with any decorum? She pulled her knees to her chest, draping her skirts so not even her toes were exposed. The flickering flames of the campfire invited her to share its warmth.

Just beyond it lay that cur of a man who had refused to take her back to Dickshooter, and who had the gall to offer her his
underwear
, of all things, and even thought that she, an unmarried lady, would want to share his bed!

She tossed her head in disgust, only to huddle up again to keep the wind off her chest.
I’ll catch my death of pneumonia out here.
Of course, her deathbed would be better than the alternative. She sneaked a peek at the alternative in question. The odious man slept, probably warm as could be, with his hat pulled halfway over his face.

The night, with the lonesome whisper of the wind, the fearsome howl of the wolves, and the cadence of chirping crickets fueled her fears. Surely snakes weren’t out at night, she reasoned, but wolves and bears certainly were.
They might even be crouched behind the bushes this very second, waiting to pounce.
She shivered again.
Maybe those howls are Indian signals!
She hugged her knees to her chest and pulled the blanket taut over her curled up body. Still, the wind had a way of snaking down the back of her neck.

Her shivers now uncontrollable, Lucinda yearned for dry clothes and warm blankets.
You’re a fool to risk freezing to death and being eaten.
Was her respectability worth her life? Wasn’t she compromised already? The colder she got, the warmer Reese looked. And safer. He looked safe.

Safe as a cougar waiting to pounce.

She scooted closer to the fire, but still at twenty feet, she felt no warmth from it. Her teeth chattered.

“
Oh, piffle!” she swore under her breath.

“
I heard that snakes crawl into bed with you, seeking out heat.”

She started at the sound of Reese’s voice, then studied him for a moment. He hadn’t moved in over an hour, but she doubted if he’d slept at all during that time. He’d been waiting for her to surrender! Shivering again, she conceded that she had to move closer to the campfire. But snakes?

“
Snakes aren’t out at night,” she huffed through her chattering teeth.

“
There, ma’am, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Snakes. Cold. Bears. Piffle! She jumped up. “That does it. You win.” She stomped toward him—definitely unladylike, but then, she didn’t feel very ladylike at the moment. Standing beside him, she said, “Open your bedroll and let me in.”

Not moving a muscle, he replied, “Not with wet clothes, darlin’. Change into those long-handles I gave you.”

He still reclined with his hat pulled over his face. At least she didn’t have to look at his smug face. “I will
not
change clothes in the presence of a man.”

“
You’ll get mighty cold before the night’s over, then. Could even freeze to death.”

She studied the offensive apparel in question lying on his saddlebags.

“
I feel mighty privileged to be ranked right up there with snakes and wolves. Makes a man proud.”

A gust of wind started her teeth chattering again. She had already decided to do whatever it took to get warm, but her thread of hope that she’d be able to maintain decorum in the interim died. “A . . . All right, I’ll change. But don’t look!”

“
Darlin’, I’d sooner look at a coiled-up rattler. It’d have a better disposition.”

Lucinda frowned. It wasn’t
her
fault that this man didn’t know how to treat a lady, she mused to herself, even if she did feel like a fake. He didn’t know her origins. Without another thought, she grabbed the long-handles from the saddlebags and circled around him until she was above his supine head. He couldn’t see her there, she thought, and she wasn’t about to brave going behind the bushes.

With the blanket still draped around her, she managed to get her dress unbuttoned. She let it slide down to a puddle around her feet. The petticoats followed. Unlacing her corset was another matter. Her fingers were stiff from the cold. Why hadn’t she bought one of those new front-fastening corsets? Finally, after considerable difficulty, she felt it loosen. She let it drop on top of the petticoats and dress. Her chemise flapped in the wind when she yanked it off and donned the long-handles, faster than she’d ever dressed before. Her uncontrollable shivering and the chattering of her teeth gave her no time for further contemplation before she plunged inside Reese’s bedroll.

“
Hmmmm,” she moaned. The warm bedroll more than made up for the hard ground.

“
Scoot closer to me and I’ll heat you up,” he offered.

His tone was gentle, not at all arrogant or lewd. Besides, the heat radiating from his body called to her survival instinct. She complied. As she inched toward him, he reached out and pulled her tight against his chest. The warmth was wonderful but the shock of her cold breasts touching his warm chest took her breath away.

Rarely had she ever been touched by a man. Never had she been embraced. Tingles went from her breasts to the pit of her stomach to . . . “No!” She pushed away from him.

* * * * *

Drat and thunderation! Reese cursed silently. What was this woman’s problem? Give her a little body heat and she went nuts.

“
Just relax and go to sleep. I won’t hurt you, and I certainly wouldn’t think of forcing myself on you.” He held the shivering woman to his chest again, sorry that she had to practically freeze to death before she could see any sense, and wishing she were quivering at his touch instead of shivering from cold.

Bah! The schoolmarm was about the last person on the face of this world he’d want to dally with. Still, those small round breasts, pert from the cold, were more than a little tempting. One taste and he could forget all about her, just like he’d always done with women. He massaged her back. She flinched.

“
Don’t worry, darlin’, I’m just getting the blood circulating so you’ll heat up faster.”

She relaxed in his arms. Barely, ever so faintly, he heard her whisper, “Thank you.”

She wouldn’t thank him if she knew what he’d been thinking—or how his body was reacting, for that matter. No, she wouldn’t thank him at all. And he didn’t have any shortage of heat at the moment, either. He battled his body for control. She’d have a conniption fit if she had any idea what she was doing to him!

He dared not move, for fear she’d shy like a skittish filly. Sleep evaded him until the wee hours of morning.

* * * * *

Reese’s tender kiss sent her floating in rapture. She begged for more, wrapped in the security of his masculine caress. Then, Indians shrieked war cries behind a boulder, their tomahawks raised, while bloody scalps dripped blood from their waistbands. She huddled into the security of Reese’s embrace, his breath singing love songs on the nape of her neck.

He held her close. She yearned to touch his muscled chest, to meld her heartbeat with his, to explore him in places she’d never touched before, to learn his touch in return. A tingling ache deep inside her grew into a raging fire, wanting more, but not knowing what. His smooth skin and the smell of leather, tobacco, and bay rum sent messages of promises to come. Her fingertips roamed freely across his flat belly, his muscles jerking slightly as if to welcome her. She silently begged him to touch her the same way.

A rattlesnake slithered into the bedroll. She couldn’t see it or hear it, but she felt its touch. Reese had told her this could happen!
She fought her way from sleep to full alertness. Something long wiggled slightly on her backside.

“
A snake!” she screamed as she rolled over and pummeled it with her fists. It was under the blanket and it was a big one, more than an inch in diameter, and it was on Reese’s stomach. “Reese, a snake!” She whacked it again.

* * * * *

“
Aaargh!” Reese jumped to his feet, clutching his nether region, then realized he was holding his parts in front of a lady. He needed to curl up and groan; instead he stood as erect as he could. “
Sonuvabitch
, woman, that’s no snake, it’s me you’re beating half to death! Don’t you know the difference between a man’s—er, anatomy and a damned snake?”

Lucinda clamped her hand over her open mouth. “I—I’m so sorry!” Her cheeks grew red hot. She yanked the blankets up to her chin, only to expose her bare feet and ankles. “You mustn’t curse around ladies.”

Women. Who could ever understand them. First they love you, then they lambaste you. And this woman was worse than the lot of them with her inviting green eyes and demure manner. She had felt him up as skillfully as any whore he’d ever been with—while she’d slept.
Makes a man want to get a lot of sleeping tonic.

He gulped some air, trying to ease the pain. “You better get dressed while I collect firewood. After breakfast, I’m getting you back to Dickshooter before you do any more damage.”

He yanked on his pants, instantly regretting his haste when the waistband slid over his still-throbbing parts. Damn that woman, anyway! He bent over and pulled on his boots, incurring even more pain, and beat a hasty retreat to the sagebrush.

Sage fires burned hot, but not as hot as he’d been while she was sliding her hands all over his body. For a stodgy schoolmarm, that woman had some passion stored up in her! He broke off some sage twigs, and picked up some dried juniper logs. She wasn’t very old, either. Her creamy skin and nicely rounded bottom shouldn’t have been wasted on such a prude.

His pain turned into a different kind of discomfort, one that needed assuaged. Maybe he’d use one of the ladies after all. Naw, that was out of the question. He could just see his father bedding any one of them, except Holly. But then, since she was only fifteen or so, he wouldn’t even consider using her. At twenty-eight, he was nearly twice her age. Lucinda, though, was ripe for the plucking. Just not amenable.

He leaned over to pick up one more piece of wood, only to fumble and drop half his load. What a way to start a day, he thought, as he repacked all the wood in his arms.

* * * * *

Lucinda waited a few minutes to make sure he was out of sight, then threw the covers off her, stood up, and stretched in the rays of the morning sun. This beautiful land hid treasures and perils in equal abundance. Reese was definitely one of the perils. She walked over to her heap of clothing and picked up her corset, damp from the dew. The brisk, wilderness morning discouraged any thought she may have had of putting on her petticoats, wrinkled beyond use, and her dress was still damp from the previous evening’s dousing.