The Badger City Gang [Bride Train 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (4 page)

“I ain’t no deadbeat and don’t live in no cave. We got us four walls and a roof.” He nodded as if that was more than enough. “But winter’s comin’ and we git awful lonely and cold. A woman’ll fix that, so I’m a’gonna git us one.”

She curled her fists and jammed them on her full hips. Her shirt stretched tight against her breasts, a damn good set for the puny size of her. Her waist curved in before flaring out to the hips he’d checked out earlier, when he found out her ass was just as full. Though she was short, she had enough padding. When he took her from behind she’d…

Whoa! The woman made him hornier than a bull elk in full rut, but he’d better keep his mind on the job. His cock was so eager for action it was almost jumping out of his pants. From what he’d seen, felt, and tasted, Kate was a spitfire that needed a strong husband or three. He wouldn’t hesitate to put her over his knee and show her who was boss. Then he’d flip her around and set her down on his cock and make it all better.

“If you want a wife, why didn’t you ask to court one of us?”

“Already did.”

“When?”

“Saw y’all walkin’ past to get yer eats.” He waggled his eyebrows in an obvious leer. “And I done strolled with ya yestiday. Saved ya from that rattler, too.” He nodded, confirming that what he said was true. “I done my courtin’.”

“Katherine, did you go walking with this man?” demanded a red-haired gal, aghast.

Kate looked him up and down, curling her lip. “No, I did not ‘go walking’ with him. I was out taking my constitutional when he noticed a snake in the rocks. He motioned me away so I wouldn’t step on it.”

“That ain’t true, darlin’.” He winked suggestively and purred his words. “When I seen that rattler, I hauled ya into my arms and kept ya safe. I didn’t hear no complainin’ when I kissed ya, neither.” He openly checked her body, from messy hair to thin stockings. She narrowed her eyes at him when gasps erupted from almost every bench.

“Katherine returned with her buttons undone!” blurted the screamer.

“Three buttons, Clarabelle, at my neck,” corrected Kate dryly. “Only three.”

“Were your buttons undone when he touched you?” asked a brunette.

“You kissed a man? That’s terribly wicked!”

Kate turned to her red-haired accuser. “What’s wrong with being wicked?”

“Nothin’ a’tall. I like wicked women,” replied Zach before any of them could jump in. He laughed at their gasps.

Though she glared at him, he’d bet an ounce of gold her flush wasn’t from fear. He liked that she’d walked in the sun with her bonnet off and three buttons open. She unbuttoned seven to sleep. Her flush rose from that shadowed space between her breasts. Even in the dim light he could see dime-size nipples jutting toward him. This time his low groan escaped.

“I want a wife who can rustle up decent grub. Kin you cook?”

“She boasted about it!” A woman with mousy-brown hair blurted the accusation.

“I never said—”

“Yes, you did,” corrected the dirty blonde in the corner seat. “You said you won a blue ribbon for your pickled beets.”

“And you made the biscuits you brought on board,” added the redhead. “They were scrumptious, weren’t they, ladies?”

“Yes!”

“Take Katherine!”

Zach held up his hand. It took a minute, but they finally stopped flapping like chickens with a fox in the henhouse.

“Kin you cook good, Kate?”

She turned back to him, blinking quickly. Her chin trembled for a moment before she swallowed and set her shoulders back.

“That is not the issue. I know nothing about you.” She flicked her eyes over him. Her flush rose even brighter.

“There’s me, Rusty, and Gideon. I saved you once already so you know I kin protect what’s mine. I’m on this here train ’cuz I git what I want.” He gave her a look to prove how much he wanted her. “There’s wimmenfolks near and talk of a school some day. Town’s got a shop that sells hats and fripperies. Don’t know what else ya needs to know. We don’t hold with beatin’ women, young’uns, or dumb animals.”

He saw a slight release in the tension around her shoulders. The tight feeling in his chest eased as well. She’d said yes, even if she didn’t know it yet.

“Are your partners men of good character?”

“Yep. We’ll treat ya real good, jist like a lady.” She raised an eyebrow so he continued. “They’se handy at yer back in a fight. Ride a horse good. Heered they kin read some.” He pulled his mouth sideways and sniffed loudly to show he had more manners than wiping his nose with his sleeve. “We works hard.”

The women looked from him, to Kate, and back. She lifted her chin and set her shoulders back.

“I refuse to marry a man I do not know, or love.”

Love wasn’t in his plans. Nohow, no way. But he’d not tell her that before the vows were said.

“Don’t hafta hurry the weddin’ none.” He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “We wants a willin’ wife, one that ain’t likely to slide a knife between a man’s ribs in the night. Figger we kin wait a bit until ye know us good. We won’t harm ye none, ’specially if yer a good cook. Cousin Rusty’s partial to biscuits and gravy. Gideon likes pie.”

Kate gripped the wooden seat with one hand. For balance, or to keep her legs from collapsing under her? The pulse in her neck raced. He wanted to nibble that spot, mark her as his, and then kiss it better.

“And what do you like?”

Zach gave her a slow, sensual smile. “I likes jist about anything a woman kin do fer a man to keep his belly full and bed warm. Think you kin keep me smilin’, Kate?”

The women gasped. Kate’s nostrils flared, and she pinched her lips together, perhaps to keep back words she might regret. He felt the change in vibration as the train began the long process of stopping. He had to keep the women quiet while water and coal was loaded. While they built up speed again, he’d haul Kate off the train and onto Rusty’s horse. By the time anyone noticed the women raising a ruckus, the train would be puffing halfway up the next hill. It needed a good head of steam to do that, so there’d be no stopping. He intended to be far away by the time the train could slow.

“Katherine said she wanted an adventure, that she didn’t want to follow rules!” The dirty blonde looked around the carriage. “Remember, when Luella said she wanted a quiet city man who’d take care of her? Katherine said she’d rather find a strong man who knew how to work.” She pointed at Zach. “He looks strong. Go with him so he’ll leave the rest of us alone!”

The others threw more accusations at Kate. He liked that she did those things. She sounded more and more like she’d fit in.

“Let me make this clear,” said Kate. She drew herself up as tall as she could, which was about level with his armpit. “I do not choose to be the sacrificial lamb for these ninnies just because you want a wife.” She stared him down like one of the old mossy longhorns who didn’t care that he was a man with a gun. “I repeat, I will not marry someone I do not know.”

“In a couple weeks ye’ll know me well enough.” He gestured to the other women. “Bet some a the gals what useta be here, married men they jist met.” Looks and nods passed around, confirming his words. He scratched his chin. “Be a few weeks afore we find the preacher, anyhow.”

“But—”

“Yer on the Bride Train, woman! You want a husband, or not?”

She dropped her eyes. A piece of fluff on her skirt suddenly caught her attention. He gave her a moment as the train’s brakes screeched.

“I do wish to marry, but only if the man loves me and accepts me as I am.”

He could understand why a feisty old maid wouldn’t easily find a husband in the States. But things were different in the Territory. A man was lucky to find a woman who could cook, take care of the cabin, and birth his children without dying. Decent looks were a bonus. Kate had attitude. Most men would accept her as she was, then try to change her. Some would insist she change, and destroy her spirit. He’d tell his brother and cousin to let her be for a bit and see what she came up with.

“Yer cantankerous, ornery, and talk back to menfolks.”

She met his eyes with a stiff jaw. She nodded as if she was a dowager, all regal and snooty.

“Yes, I am. And I have no intention of changing.”

“Don’t want no woman who cain’t stand up fer herself.”

She didn’t smile, but at least she wasn’t scowling at him anymore. “Is that true?”

He nodded, meeting those light brown eyes of hers. “Yep, and I’m a man of my word.” He waited, tense and eager, as she made up her mind.

“All right, then. I’ll go to Virginia City with you and…”

Her words trailed off when he slowly shook his head, grinning in relief and eagerness. He braced himself as the train began to brake. He waited to speak between the screams of the brakes.

“We ain’t goin’ that far.” He looked right into the eyes of each woman, pointing his gun at Kate as he did so. They stared back like stunned sheep.

“Y’all keep quiet, now. Me and Kate’ll be leavin’ soon’s the train starts up again.”

“But, how can we leave when the train’s moving?” asked Kate.

He winked at her white face. “We jump.”

“Are you mad?”

Katharine wanted to say more, but the barrel of his cocked pistol made her shut her mouth tight. While she’d hoped for adventure, jumping from a moving train was something that should only happen in a book, to someone else. While she’d loved to dream of being a heroine having wild adventures, she had never considered the practicalities.

“Nope.” Her captor smiled and winked. It made him look far too attractive. “I need a wife, so I’m’a robbin’ this here Bride Train. I want you, you said you’d come, so git ready.”

“Are you part of a gang?” asked Clarabelle, her eyes wide.

“Yep. The Badger City Gang.”

The train lurched. She grabbed the edge of the bench with both hands to keep her feet. Other women screeched and fell into their seats. Her captor, kidnapper, or whatever he wanted to call himself, easily kept his footing. He stood there, legs braced wide, showing his size and strength.

He would never fit in a drawing room or be invited to a social activity. Father might hire him to clean the stables, but that was as close as he’d come to their home. But teach him to speak well, put him in a good suit, and women would swoon while men gnashed their teeth in jealousy. Her brothers would never gain the aura of complete confidence that emanated from him.

She called herself an adventuress. She came west determined to find passion, love, and a real home in this wild, rugged land. So how could she hold her head up if she didn’t take this chance for adventure? In spite of the man’s gruff bark, there was something about him that made her want to prove she could be as wild as she claimed. But she would not bow down and give in like her mother.

“I take orders from no man,” she informed him.

The shrill hiss of escaping steam filled the carriage, making it impossible to talk. As he waited for it to stop, he looked her over. She winced, thinking of her mussed hair, wrinkled dress, and atrocious laddered stockings. She sat and put on her boots. He kept looking even after silence descended. When she finally met his eyes, he winked.

“You’ll take them from me.”

His slow, sensual growl sent shivers down her spine. Worse, it made her belly quiver in a most unsettling way. It felt the same as when the junction of her thighs was pressed against his hard body. Obviously, he was a determined man who got what he wanted, and he wanted her.

When he held her against his hard body yesterday, she felt truly alive. He wanted a woman in his bed, and she wanted a man to show her what it was all about.

“You comin’ along quiet-like, or do I hafta hog-tie you?”

The deep, lazy question fanned the fire inside her. This man didn’t promise love, but his sensual wink suggested he’d show her a lot of passion if she wanted it. Her heart pounded. Excitement, fear, arousal…it didn’t matter why. Finally she was going to do something wild, against everything Edmond Mason stood for. She fought back the hysterical laugh that bubbled up from her belly.

An uneasy quiet settled as the train stopped. The men working outside would expect them to still be sleeping, or perhaps beginning their toilet. All the window blinds were down, of course. This was her chance to be herself, uppity attitude and all. If he didn’t like it, then too bad. After all, it wasn’t as if she had to marry him.

She stood straight, ready to face her future. As if reading her mind, her captor turned his eyes, and his pistol, her way.

“I suggest you keep quiet.”

“You wouldn’t shoot an unarmed woman.”

“Maybe not.”

He suddenly holstered his gun and took two steps forward. It brought him right in front of her. He grabbed her waist, lifted her, and pressed her face against his pounding chest. He held her securely with his left arm as he had the day before, her feet dangling.

“But I jest might spank one,” he whispered in her ear.

His free hand pressed into her bottom. He branded her with his hot palm, pressing her snug against the hard planes of his chest and belly. Various thumping and splashing noises occurred outside the window.

“You willin’ to give me and the boys a try?”

He spoke quietly, so no one else could hear. After a moment she nodded against his coat. He exhaled, and she felt his muscles relax. She pushed her head back to say the words, but a shrill whistle sounded. The engine chugged and the wheels began to slowly turn once more. She tried to open her eyes, but her face was pressed against his coat.

“Which bag is Kate’s?”

He grunted and bent over, hopefully to pick up her carpetbag. It held a clean nightgown, dress, undergarments, a few precious things, and her brother’s old riding clothes. He hauled her along with him for a couple of steps. He set her down on the platform between the carriages. He turned her to face the room. She concentrated on breathing as a dozen pink faces stared back at her. Some looked gleeful, others envious. Clarabelle had fainted.

“My pardners are ridin’ near and they got rifles, so’s I suggest y’all keep quiet. And Kate’s trunks better be waitin’ for her in Virginee City.”