The Outlaw (11 page)

“I have no intentions of getting caught.” She
made a grab for the reins and he took hold of her hand.

“For once in your life, would you listen to
me?” He gave her a stern look, meeting her gaze head-on. “Do you
honestly believe they won’t see you? Do you think someone hasn’t
noticed the horse missing yet? Hell, they’re probably making their
way out here as we speak.”

She turned to look over her shoulder, her
eyes a little too wide. She licked her lips and Colt’s pulse
leaped. “Look, we’re only a two day ride from Willow Creek. The
stagecoach line runs that way so you can just go home from there
instead.” Assuming he let her get on it. He stared at her, watching
her turn to look at him and knew, one way or another, before she
got on that stagecoach, he’d make her think twice about leaving
him. If he was lucky, she might even stay.

His heart skipped a beat at the thought. Why
did he want her to stay? He rolled the question around in his head,
trying to figure out exactly what it was he wanted from her. Her in
his bed, for one. He hadn’t been able to think of much else since
clapping eyes on her but it was more than that. He liked talking to
her, looking at her, and the verbal sparring matches gave him a bit
of humor in his otherwise boring existence.

He’d never had thoughts of settling down. Oh,
he had them when he was shot last year but even that wasn’t enough
to cure his wanderlust but looking at Sarah, he imagined it.
Visions of going to bed every night for the rest of his life with
that luscious body snuggled in close to his. To waking up every
morning and seeing her face. To finding her in the kitchen, baking,
with a couple of his babies by her feet.

“Colt? Are you all right?”

She said his name and he blinked, the images
fading away. He smiled and nodded his head, reluctantly letting go
of her hand. “Never better, why?”

“Because you had a funny look on your
face.”

He reached down to unwind the reins to her
horse from the saddle horn, handing them back to her. “Let’s go. We
need to put some distance between us and that town back there.” He
didn’t wait to see if she’d follow. He’d chase her down if she
didn’t but it only took her a minute or two to get the horse
moving. He smiled to himself when he saw her out of the corner of
his eye. She was following him.

* * * *

It was a little past noon when they stopped.
Sarah slid from the horses back and had to grab the saddle to keep
from falling. Her knees were wobbly from riding all morning.

She watched Colt walk his horse to the
shelter of the trees and grabbed the reins to Virgil’s horse and
did the same. When Colt entered the thicket, she halted her steps.
“Where are you going?”

“There’s a good size creek back here. We can
water the horses and cool off a bit.”

Washing the sweat and dust off her face would
be heaven and caused her heart to leap for joy. Sarah was nearly
running by the time she reached the trees. She followed Colt,
stumbling on a tree root before righting herself and guiding the
horse. The sound of running water reached her moments before the
scent of wet earth did.

The air was cool under the canopy of trees
and she sighed at how refreshing it felt. Although she didn’t have
on the mounds of silk and petticoats she normally wore, the calico
dress was tight fitting and left little room to breathe.

Sunlight sparkled off the water and threw a
kaleidoscope of color onto the foliage above and Sarah hurried her
steps. When they reached the clearing, she smiled.

The area was small, with a few large rocks
lining the creek bed. The ground around the creek looked washed out
as if the creek had been larger at one time but the small grassy
area surrounding it looked like heaven to her. Shrouded in shade,
small flowers dotted the creek bank and lent an added array of
scents to the entire area. It was as close to paradise as she’d
ever seen.

Colt led his horse straight to the water’s
edge before letting go of the reins and turning toward her. He took
the reins from her hand, guiding the horse to the waters edge.
Sarah followed, eager to kick her boots off and dip her toes into
the water. It didn’t look very deep, maybe knee high, but that was
enough. If she’d had the privacy, she’d be willing to bet she could
sit on the bottom and be cooled cleaned to her neck.

Sitting on one of the rocks, she unhooked her
boots and kicked them off. She reached under her skirt and
discreetly tugged at her stockings. A flash of light out of the
corner of her eye caught her attention and she looked up. She
blinked when she saw Cole standing a few feet away. He was removing
his shirt. The holster of guns normally around his lean hips, his
coat, hat and boots were already lying on the ground.

She’d seen him shirtless twice and had nearly
swallowed her tongue at the fleeting glance, now, as the shirt
fluttered to the ground, she was able to look her fill.

The same muscles she’d admired then were
presented for her gleaming with moisture. Every move he made caused
them to ripple and slide under his skin. His chest was well defined
and his stomach muscles dipped and curved. Her mouth went dry just
looking at him and she never moved or blinked until he reached for
the front of his pants. It took her a moment to realize what he was
doing and when he pushed the material down, sliding it over his
hips, she caught the faintest flash of where that hair on his belly
ended up. Her eyes widened when he bent to kick the pants away, his
backside in plain sight, and she screamed, embarrassed, as she
lifted her hands to her face to cover her eyes. “Colt!”

His laughter was the only thing she heard
until the splash of water reached her. He was in the creek, butt
naked. The desire to look was overwhelming. Her hands shook with
the need to do so and her fingers twitched to slide apart so she
could peek through them.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart? Never seen a
naked man before?”

“No! Why on earth would I have?”

His laughter taunted her. Did he want her to
see him? Knowing Colt, he did. The man never did anything without a
reason. Chewing on her lip, she debated on what to do. Uncover her
face and ignore him or sit here like some ninny with her eyes
covered. His laughter only proved how ridiculous she probably
looked and with a deep inhale, she lowered her hands, trying
desperately not to look toward the creek.

The splashing water only made it harder. The
cool water probably felt wonderful and the more Sarah thought about
it, the more her dress stuck to her body. She was hot, her skin
felt sticky, and damn his hide for taunting her. How would he react
if she’d done such a brazen thing?

A naughty thought struck her then and the
smile tugging at her mouth was held at bay by biting her lip. What
would he do? Stand there and gawk at her? Kiss her again? Or would
he do more? Either thought caused a ripple of pleasure to tingle up
her spine.

But what would her father say? He’d probably
whip her good and proper for even thinking such a thing. Good girls
didn’t strip bare for a man that wasn’t her husband. They certainly
didn’t have sinful thoughts of that man touching her, of him
kissing her in places that weren’t her mouth or of feeling his
hands on her flesh. They certainly didn’t entertain the thought of
lying with him, of letting him do things to her no unmarried woman
was supposed to do.

The water splashing again broke her train of
thought and Sarah turned her head to look without thinking. Colt’s
naked backside was in full view and lord have mercy that man was
built for sin. Even his behind was a work of art. Hard muscles and
gentle sloping cheeks. She swallowed to moisten her throat.

When he went to his knees, splashing water
onto his face and neck, all those muscles bunched and glinted with
water. He was purposely displaying himself for her and damn him,
she wasn’t going to be the only one salivating like a starving
dog.

Standing, she reached for the buttons of her
dress, unhooked them quickly and parted the material. A fleeting
thought of turning her back flashed across her mind but she ignored
it. She couldn’t be wanton and shy at the same time.

Untying her shift, she grabbed both it and
the dress from her shoulders, she pushed the material down and over
her hips, grabbing the waistband of her slip in the process and
sliding it all to the ground. She was left in nothing but her
bloomers. Raising her arm, she covered her breasts for a moment
before stealing her nerves. Colt still had his back to her but she
knew if she saw his face, he’d be smiling, getting a good chuckle
out of making her uncomfortable.

Well, two could play this game. Her bloomers
joined the rest of the clothes at her feet. She quickly untied her
hair, unwound the braid and let it all fall down her back and
started for the creek, her head held high.

Chapter Eight

The moment her feet touched the water she
gasped. It was colder than she thought it would be. Her harsh
inhalation of breath was enough to grab Colt’s attention. She saw
him turn his head out of the corner of her eye moments before he
hissed out a strangled, “Son of a bitch.” He stood quickly, turning
to face her.

“Sarah, put your clothes on!”

She smiled and bent at the waist, scooping a
handful of water and splashing it onto her face. “Why? It’s much
easier to get clean this way. Besides,” she said, standing and
glancing over at him. “You’re naked.”

He was facing her now and Sarah felt her face
blaze as her gaze naturally traveled over him, ending up in the one
place she should have never looked. Her throat seemed to close off
the moment she did and she turned her head, closing her eyes as
visions of him danced behind her closed eyelids. Lord above if he
wasn’t the most wicked thing she’d ever seen.

His backside was a sight to behold but the
front… She swallowed again, trying to moisten her throat and found
it hard to catch her breath.

She imagine many times what a man looked like
naked but it was nothing compared to seeing one in the flesh.
Especially one who was partially aroused. Seeing Colt that way did
funny things to her. Her heart was pounding hard enough to break a
rib, her stomach clenched painfully and a pulse between her legs
made itself known before a funny tingle started to grow there and
intensify.

Trying to ignore it all, she bent again,
scooping up more water and washed her face, letting the cool liquid
trickle down over her chest. She heard Colt coming toward her, the
splashing as he stomped across the creek signaling his approach.
She didn’t dare turn her head. Seeing him from a distance was hard
enough without having his most intimate parts in her face. She
blinked the image away moments before he grabbed her arm and pulled
her into an upright position.

His brows were drawn together, a muscle in
his cheek twitching. “What exactly are you trying to prove?”

She smiled while looking him in the eye.
“Nothing. I’m just trying to cool off and wash away some of the
dirt and sweat, the same as you.”

He glanced down the line of her body, heat
flaring in his eyes. Sarah flushed at his casual perusal, her
nipples aching when his gaze landed there. When he lifted his head,
she knew whatever happened next would change her life. She saw it
in the depths of those crystal blue eyes moments before he lifted
his hand to cup the back of her neck. Before he dragged her closer
to him, the heat from his skin scorching her flesh from chest to
thigh. “If you’re trying to tempt me, sweetheart, it’s
working.”

“And why would I do something like that? I’m
trying to wash. You’re the one thinking there’s more behind my
motives.”

He smiled but it looked strained, as if it
pained him to do so. “And I’m supposed to just stand here while you
flash all god gave ya and not do a damn thing about it?” He glanced
down at her breasts again and shook his head. “I’m a lot of things,
but a saint aint one of ‘em. Now put your clothes on or I’m going
to have you in every way I can possibly imagine.”

She was fighting for breath. She could feel
his chest rising against her own, feel the proof of his arousal
against her stomach and the hungry look in his eyes was enough for
her to beg him to take her. His hand at the back of her neck held
her captive, the intense expression on his face caused her heart to
race faster and that aching throb between her legs was causing her
skin to break out in tiny beads of perspiration. What was she
supposed to do? If she dressed, he’d gloat at being able to order
her around. If she didn’t, and decided to defy him, and stayed
naked instead?

Sarah knew one thing. If she went home
without ever having a taste of a man as wicked as Colt Avery, she’d
live out the rest of her life regretting it. Besides, she was
already ruined. There wouldn’t be a person back home who didn’t
think she’d been touched by one of those outlaws so the stain would
be with her forever. She might as well make those assumptions a
reality. She wanted Colt, just as he’d said, and she was tired of
denying it.

The thought of what he’d do next caused that
throbbing between her legs to increase, to ache in a way that
caused her to become lightheaded. If she were honest with herself,
she’d admit to wanting him to act upon it, to do what she was too
scared to even fathom. To seduce her. To give her more kisses, to
touch her in places no man had even seen, let alone felt.