Sweeter Than Honey (2 page)

“You’re no doctor. Those rules don’t apply.”

“Have you talked to these men? Have any of them made complaints against me?”

“No, but you’re up to something, and I don’t want any trouble.” And she was trouble with a capital T. “I’m thinking you should hitch up your wagon and head on down the road.”

She blinked and, for a moment, her expression faltered. “I had hoped to winter here. Mrs. Sessions—”

“Is an innocent lady. She’s not wise to your ways.”

Her stillness cut him, and he felt heat warm the back of his neck and the tips of his ears. He’d crossed the line between being professional and being cruel.

She jutted her chin higher and fisted her hands on her hips. “You’re implying I’m not…innocent?”

His gaze swept over her, from the tip of her red-haired head to her toes. Another insult. He couldn’t seem to help himself where she was concerned. Something about her had him firing with both barrels blazing. “You travel alone—without a chaperone. What’s a man supposed to think about that?”

She took a step closer, drawing her eyebrows together in a fierce scowl. “Being alone in the world means I’m a whore?” she said, her voice rising.

“A decent woman,” he bit out, “would set roots in a community—seek help and protection from a husband or her neighbor.”

“I don’t need any man to protect me or my virtue, sir.”

“I’ll grant you had me and most of the town fooled. But your charm’s a little too practiced, and you’ve got a slick tongue.”

Her mouth gaped and her cheeks went from pink to a dark red that clashed with her bright hair. “A slick tongue?”

Her anger goaded him on like a burr under a saddle. “You’re a snake-oil salesman, a charlatan—”

She stepped so close her chest nearly touched his, and she glared up into his face. “Now you look here, buster,” she said, pointing a finger at his chest and giving him a nudge. “I’m a business woman. I sell cures people need. I haven’t broken any laws, and I sure as hell haven’t poisoned one damn person in this town.” She paused to catch her breath…and that’s when it happened.

Her breasts brushed his chest, and he felt a spark arc between their bodies, igniting a fire as fierce as lightning striking dry prairie grass. It filled his loins with a heavy, pulsating heat and drew his balls tight and close to his groin. He shot out his hands and grasped her shoulders to pull her flush against his body, but he halted, holding her an inch away. What he wanted of her wasn’t very civilized. Best not cross that line.

“Sheriff?” Her plump, pink lips gasped, but she tilted her head back.

Invitation enough. He slammed his mouth down onto hers even while he damned himself for being a fool.

Chapter Two

Honey clung to Sheriff Tanner’s broad shoulders, afraid her knees would buckle if she let go. His kiss shocked her to her toes. His mouth devoured hers—hungry, openmouthed, drawing a deeply carnal response from her that had her trembling like a leaf in a breeze.

Ever since that first day when she’d entered his office to purchase her license, she’d imagined what his kiss would be like. When he’d looked up from the rough, deeply scratched desk with the latest telegraph messages and wanted posters spread across the surface, he’d taken her breath away.

Even seated, she could tell he was a big man. Her gaze had followed his thickly muscled shoulders and neck to his large hands with their long, thick fingers, and she’d shivered at the thought of those hands gliding intimately over her flesh. Flustered by how quickly her thoughts had turned sexual in nature, she’d raised her glance.

The harsh, blunt angles of his jaw and nose had been strangely beautiful, well suited to his body. His dark eyes had glinted with interest for the barest moment, before he’d shuttered his expression and raised one dark brow in a challenge that found an answer deep inside her core.

When she’d opened her mouth to speak, his gaze had dipped, and so had hers, until one side of his full lips had curved upward. He’d liked what he’d seen of her, and she’d thought…just maybe, she’d like to explore this attraction—to feel the pressure of his expressive mouth on hers.

In her romantic fantasies, she’d thought he’d gently mold her lips, slowly coaxing her to open for him before dipping inside to touch his tongue to hers. A gentleman’s sweet kiss.

Never would she have imagined the depth of passion he’d unleash. He’d appeared a self-possessed man, not one prone to losing his control.

But then again, she’d never dreamed she’d enter into a shouting match with him. Never mind that his voice had remained even and his words clipped, and she’d done most of the shouting.

No wonder he’d lost his temper. It was all her fault. She’d driven the man to resort to kissing her to shut her up. Only once he’d accomplished his goal, he seemed in no hurry to stop.

Neither was she. She opened her mouth and accepted the thrust of his tongue, shivering as he invaded, moaning softly when he rimmed her teeth and the roof of her mouth and then stroked the length of her tongue in long, scorching laps as though he had to brand her, mark this territory as his own.

Lord, she wished he’d show the same possessive heat where the rest of her body was concerned. She strained against the strong hands that kept her from snuggling close. Her nipples grew tight, hard and irritated by the soft cotton of her chemise, and the oddest quivering pulse began between her legs, swelling her outer feminine folds, moistening the thin inner lips, until she was squeezing her thighs together to relieve the ache.

She broke the kiss and opened her eyes.

His dark brown gaze was smoking-hot, searing. Did he think she’d draw away like a frightened virgin?

Well, she almost was, but that fact didn’t stop her from wanting more of his kisses and to press her body flush against his. If he was half as aroused as she was, she’d know the strength of his desire in the hardness of his cock and the fine tremors that would rack his body when she moved against him.

Could she tempt a man like this? Her pride had been wounded when he’d implied she was a whore. Had he meant it? Or was he just protecting himself from his own attraction? She wanted to know.

Not to throw his attraction back in his face because of her dented pride, but because he was the embodiment of her fantasies. Just once, she wanted to taste the desire of a decent man.

She bit her lip and watched, fascinated, as his gaze dropped to her mouth. She flicked out her tongue and wet her lips, and his breath caught—she knew because his chest rose and lightly grazed hers. The sensation shocked her.

Slowly, she lifted on tiptoe to better align their faces, encouraged when he didn’t draw away. Yet he didn’t press closer either. How could she break his iron hold? She drew a ragged breath, felt the heat creep slowly over her cheeks, and trailed her fingertips up his inner thigh.

His breath gusted and he gripped her shoulders hard enough to bruise, but he didn’t thrust her away.

Where the courage came from, she didn’t want to know. She’d never acted this outrageously before, but when she scraped against the swell of his cock, she knew she was on the right track.

His thick cock jumped. Then his nostrils flared and a ruddy color filled his cheeks. His chest rose and fell more quickly and then stilled again when she cupped him fully with her palm.

Lord, he was hard and hung like a bull. She smoothed her hand up his length and back down just to make sure.

He cleared his throat. “Know what you’re doing there?” he asked, his voice sounding deliciously rusty.

She pouted her lips and raised one eyebrow, trying her best to hide her nervousness. “I think I’m just feeling my way.”

“We probably have an office filled with people with their ears pressed to the door.”

Her lips stretched into a wicked grin. “Then you’d better not shout,” she whispered.

His lips twitched. “Why, am I going to get that urge?”

Wetting her lips again, this time in anticipation, she murmured, “Because I have this damnable curiosity that has to be fed.”

“Do you always follow your…curiosity?”

Her hand followed the hard outline of his cock, and she gave him a squeeze. “What do you think?”

He cursed under his breath and let go of her shoulders. Before she could voice her disappointment, one hand grabbed hers and pushed it away from the front of his trousers and the other reached around her and grabbed her bottom to draw her body close, at last snuggling his sex against her body. “I think we’ve only got about a minute before your admirers come to the rescue.”

“Who?” she asked, her mind already jumping ahead to imagine long, hot thrusts and a powerful release—something she knew about but had never experienced for herself. “What admirers?”

After an adjustment that lifted her on tiptoe, he flexed his hips forward, rubbing his clothed erection where she needed the friction the most. “Do I need to bring out the town census?”

How could he think? Her mind was shattering, one thought after another exploding in multicolored flames. She wound her hands around the back of his neck and pressed her heavy breasts against his chest, rubbing against him like a kitten. “Why aren’t you among them?” she asked, just shy of breathless.

“Who says I’m not?” he growled.

The intimate rumble of his voice did the darndest things to her body. Moisture dampened the crotch of her pantalets. “But you want me gone.”

His cheek rubbed against hers, and he thrust his hips against her, grinding through her petticoats. “I want my life…simple.”

Unwilling to let any impediment halt their momentum, she gathered up the front of her skirt in one hand, holding it at her waist. “I’m not simple, Sheriff.”

“No, you’re not.” A large hand cupped the back of her neck and he tipped up her chin with his thumb. He slid his lips down the column of her throat. “You’re delicious.” Another hand slipped between her legs and found the slitted opening of her underwear. Two fingers traced the moist furrow then thrust inside. “Hot. You’re so damn hot,” he murmured against her hair as he lowered the hand from her neck to tighten on her behind.

Honey’s mouth opened, but she found she didn’t have the breath to speak. Her gasp was ragged, quickly edging toward a howl. Her inner muscles clamped around his fingers and she rolled her hips, trying to bring him deeper.

“Jesus, you’re tight,” he groaned. He stroked his fingers just inside, swirling in her juices. “We don’t have time to take off all these layers, sweetheart.”

Honey hooked a thigh over his hips and leaned back. “What do we have time to accomplish?”

He speared his fingers deeper into her, giving her a twinge of discomfort. “Just this, I think.”

“What about you?”

His jaw tightened, but one side of his mouth rose in a whimsical smile. “No time to put my clothing to rights. Let me give you this.”

A man who gave without expecting his own reward? “Doesn’t seem fair,” she moaned as he twisted his fingers and rubbed knuckles against the ripening nub at the top of her sex.

“Think I won’t enjoy watching you unravel?”

“Does it make you feel manly?” she quipped, trying to keep the conversation light, but damn she needed to move.

Sheriff Tanner let go of her arse and cupped her breast through her jacket. “Makes me harder than a fencepost, but that’s my problem. This will give us both pleasure.” When she arched her back, he glided his mouth along the bottom of her jaw.

Honey circled her hips and groaned softly at the exquisite feeling as her sex dragged away and then swallowed his fingers with each little swirl. “Ummm…I’d like to feel that…fencepost.”

“Bet you would,” he said, a smile in his voice.

“My breasts ache.”

“Wish I had time to see them,” he said, giving her a squeeze through her clothing.

“Mmmm…what would you do? Tell me.”

His mouth found hers and glanced over her lips before moving away to nibble on her ear. “I’d suck ’em ’til the tips spiked and your nipples got all rosy,” he whispered. “Are your nipples pink?”

His fingers surged inside and withdrew, then came back, thrusting deeper. “Yes,” she whimpered. “Um…pink. Then what?”

“I’d pinch ’em between my fingers and tug ’til you were moaning.” He scraped his thick thumb over her clitoris, then made another pass and another.

“Don’t stop,” she said, the motion of her hips deepening, heat curling tight like a watch spring inside her belly.

“Then I’d suck on ’em again,” he said, a note of urgency entering his voice that told her he knew she was close and it excited him as well. “And then when you were writhing against me…I’d bite. Gentle like, just enough to make you moan.”

“I can feel it,” she sobbed. “Jesus, don’t let them come through that door. Not yet.”

He circled and flicked and finally pinched the engorged knot. Honey’s head fell back and her body quivered with delight. Her breath caught and she cried out, but he was there to swallow the cry, grinding his lips against hers to muffle the sound of her release.

As she grew slack in his arms, the fingers stroking her passage slowed, and his kiss softened, becoming tender caresses along her cheek and jaw that soothed her, now. “Oh my.”

He winced as though in pain, but then Joe drew his hand from underneath her skirt, set her away and pulled down her petticoat and skirt.

Honey swayed on her feet, but he caught her shoulders.

“You’ll want to keep your head down. Your lips look thoroughly kissed.”

She grinned and pressed her tingling lips together. They were slightly sore and swollen, and she could only imagine what the rest of her looked like. Completely debauched? Delightfully sated? Lord, her imagination hadn’t prepared her for the feelings whirling inside her—joy, gratitude toward this taciturn man who’d selflessly pleasured her.

His jaw tightened and a frown drew his dark eyebrows together. “You know it doesn’t have a thing to do with how attractive you are, or how much I want you.”

She shook her head to clear it. “What are you talking about?”

“Your leaving,” he said, his tone flat.

As though a rug had suddenly been pulled out from under her, her heart plummeted inside her chest. How could he blow so hot one moment and then suddenly freeze her with a glance? “What was this all about?”

His lips tightened, and he shrugged. “My pleasuring you. It’s what you asked me for.”

She started to shake. Her stomach grew queasy. “I asked you for it?”

“When you touched me.”

She blinked fiercely against the unexpected moisture in her eyes. “So you were just doing me a favor?” She lifted her chin, proud of the fact her voice hadn’t cracked.

“What did you think it was? Did you think I’d change my mind?”

He thought she’d been attempting to sway him. “That isn’t why…” She shook her head again and gave a humorless laugh. Humiliation burned through her. She drew a breath to steady her voice and slowly lifted her chin while she gathered the edges of her frayed pride. “No, you know you’re right,” she said, relieved her tone was every bit as cold as his. “I really should be moving on.”

He raked a hand through his dark, close-cropped hair. “You can stay a couple more days. I didn’t mean you had to leave right away.”

Her heart started beating faster again as anger surged through her—anger at herself, for letting her fantasy usurp her common sense. “No. I have supplies to restock, but it’s high time I kick this town’s dust off my shoes.” She narrowed her eyes. “I have plans, you know. Big brass-band plans.” She grabbed blindly for the door knob.

“Um, your hair?”

“Huh?” she asked, not turning back. She never wanted to see him again.

“It’s coming down.”

“Oh. Well, hell. What does it matter now? The whole town knows we’ve been up to something in here anyway. It’s not like I have a reputation to uphold.”

A sigh sounded behind her. “Honey—”

Finding it impossible to submerge her hurt and anger again, she cast a scathing look behind her. “Miss Cafferty to you, seeing as how we never got around to first names.” She opened the door with so much force it slammed against the wall and she stalked into the outer office.

Sure as hell, there stood Curly Hicks and a couple of the gentlemen from the saloon.

Honey held her head high, gave them a regal nod and then fled the office as quickly and with as much dignity as she could muster.

Tomorrow wouldn’t be soon enough to leave this one-horse—No! Two Mule—town behind.

Honey wrote the list of supplies she’d need to pick up the following morning and slapped them on Curly Hicks’s counter. He’d followed on her heels as she’d stalked down the walkway from the sheriff’s office straight to his store.

“I’ll have ’em ready first thing,” he said, his avid gaze watching her like she’d grown a rattler’s tail.

She barely resisted the urge to flicker her tongue at the odious man. Instead, she turned her back on him without giving him a proper farewell.