Wildfire in His Arms (36 page)

“Y
OUR SHERIFF IS ALREADY
suspicious, and with everyone in town knowing we got hitched, we can't risk having a cot delivered to our room.”

Max had assumed that Degan had already arranged for one as he'd done at the other hotels they stayed at after Bozeman. But she couldn't fault him for forgetting after everything that had happened today.

“I can sleep on the floor,” she offered.

“We can share the bed—as long as you stay on your side of it.”

She recalled what had happened that morning in Bozeman when she'd awakened to find him bare chested and watching her. And the kiss . . . She wished now she hadn't remembered that. She'd probably think of nothing else now.

Yet he'd pretty much just implied it might happen again, so she reassured him it wouldn't by teasing, “You think Grady will break in here in the morning to inspect the sheets?”

“I don't think he has a death wish, no.”

“I don't know, Grady can be damn determined, especially if he gets it into his head that our marriage is only a legal convenience.” Max yawned, but continued to tease, “I'll guard the sheets with my life. I'll even take them with me in the morning. But I should probably strip down a little more than I usually do, just in case he does have that death wish—or climbs up to peek through the window in the middle of the night, which we probably wouldn't hear.”

“Are you trying to make me laugh?”

She grinned. “It's not working, huh?”

“Stripping down sounds interesting.”

Was
he
teasing her now? Or had the same thing that had occurred to her occurred to him—that no one except them would know if they did actually make love? The marriage could still be annulled. They'd just have to lie a little. . . .

Yet he was walking toward her and looked a bit more determined than usual. Not at all sure what he was about to do, she took a few steps back until she ran out of space and her back was pressed to the wall.

“You know you're not afraid of me, Maxie, so what are you doing?”

Did he really just sound amused? “You don't usually want to get this close to me.”

“There's a good reason for that.”

“Then what are
you
doing?”

“Making an exception to give you what you missed at the church—a wedding kiss.”

“But you did kiss me.”

“I wasn't sure you even noticed, it was so quick. And that one didn't count with that unfriendly witness present. I thought you might like a real one for this first marriage of yours.”

Reminding her that this wouldn't be her only marriage in the same breath that he wanted to seal it with a real kiss? Was he kidding? He probably was. She should know better than to tease him. He got even.

She put a hand up to his chest. “We can leave it the way it's supposed to be—a fake marriage.”

“It's as fake as you want it to be, Maxie,” he said quietly as he leaned in a little closer. “But you're still getting this kiss. Consider it a memento.”

As if she could ever forget anything having to do with him. But she couldn't dodge his mouth. She didn't try very hard. And quickly, she found out that this kiss wasn't the kind he could have given her in a church. Not even close.

He lifted one of her legs and wrapped it around his hip as he leaned in even closer. His tongue was in play immediately, swirling around hers, tempting a response from her. No coaxing was necessary. Her body responded to him as it always did with the sensual stirring that flipped around as if it were trying to find him but couldn't. Her hands could. She put one behind his neck and quickly moved it up into his hair. The other she slipped under his jacket, but his vest was still in the way. Would he stop long enough to let her get rid of it?

He stopped longer than that. He stepped back so fast she almost stumbled.

Heat was in his eyes, and yet his voice was as toneless as it usually was when he said, “There. In case they're up on the roof across the street looking this way.”

Max blinked. “That was just for show?”

“Of course.”

She felt like hitting him. “I'm too tired to play any more games today!”

She pushed away from the wall and pulled her blouse off over her head and threw it on a chair. She yanked her boots and socks off next. That took some hopping, but she was too frustrated to sit down to do it. She unfastened her skirt and just let it pool at her feet before she marched to the bed and yanked the covers down. Then she crawled to the center of the bed and stretched out as if she were waiting for him to join her. But she sure as hell wasn't—until a bare-chested Degan lay down beside her.

“That was for Grady,” he said softly. “This is for us.”

Max sputtered, “What—what do you think you're doing?”

He kissed her before he said, “Relax and turn over so I can rub your back.”

As tired as she was, that sounded too nice to refuse. She rolled over for the massage, but it felt so divine she got more and more drowsy until he turned her onto her back and started kissing her again. His mouth moved lower and he nibbled at her neck, sending pleasant tingles rippling through her body. He kissed her shoulder as he touched her breast, running his finger around her nipple ever so lightly until she gasped. But he didn't stop. He kept stroking her as his mouth moved lower again, leaving a trail of kisses until his tongue was flicking at the tip of her other breast. She groaned as heat rushed through her, running her fingers through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck. Degan was kissing both of her breasts now, directing his attention to first one and then the other, his hands caressing her, too.

His mouth kept moving lower, kissing her midriff as he stroked her hips and thighs. What was he doing? Was he going to kiss her all the way down to her toes? She couldn't think beyond that, all she could do was luxuriate in the pleasure his hands and mouth were giving her. The sensations got so intense she had to take deep breaths and close her eyes. But when he gently pushed her legs apart and kissed her thigh, her eyes flew open. And when he reached the most sensitive spot on her body, she climaxed.

She was totally shocked, amazed, delighted, yet too exhausted to grasp what had just happened. As she drifted off, she thought she heard Degan say, “Good night, Mrs. Grant.”

C
OLE CALLAHAN RODE HARD
to get back to the ranch. He didn't have his mother's bonnet, which he'd been sent to town to fetch. Ever since that Allison Montgomery woman had paid his parents a visit, Mary had been pining for a pretty new bonnet like hers and had ordered one from back East. And he'd been sent to town every day to see if it had arrived. That Eastern lady had made quite an impression on his parents. He wished he'd been home that day to meet her.

His parents had just ridden in from the range for lunch. He caught them leaving the stable for the house and hopped off his horse next to them. Mary looked disappointed when she didn't see a hatbox tied to his saddle, but he knew he could fix that with his exciting news.

Grinning, Cole exclaimed, “I've got a telegram from ­Morgan!”

Zachary humphed as he took the sealed telegram from his son. “After this long that boy finally lets us know he's still alive?”

“You were worried he wasn't?” Mary asked.

“Course not, but he didn't know that.”

“I
knew
I should've just opened it,” Cole said impatiently. “Pa, what are you waiting for?”

Zachary opened the telegram, but his eyebrows shot up after reading the first line. “Well, I'll be damned. Morgan struck it rich.” Then with a sigh he said, “I was hoping for better news.”

Cole was laughing. “What's better than that?”

“That he's ready to give up this mining nonsense and come home for good.”

“Pa, striking it rich means he won't be doing the mining himself anymore, he'll have crews to do it for him.”

But Mary wanted to know. “What else does he say?”

Zachary read further. “I think he's gone daft. ‘Who knew thorns could be so nice?' What does that mean?”

Mary snatched the telegram out of her husband's hands. “Some thornbushes must have led him to his ore discovery,” she guessed.

“Or he's in love with someone who annoys the hell out of him,” Cole said with a grin.

Mary scoffed, “Morgan in love? That would be wonderful, but I highly doubt it. He's been too single-minded in this mining obsession of his. When would he have time to fall in love?”

“Well, someone we know did,” Zachary said with a grin of his own. “Read the last line, Mary.”

She did, then exclaimed, “Oh, my! Degan got married!”

“Sounds like Morgan knows Degan was working for me. Why else mention his wedding?” Zachary said.

“Are you kidding?” Cole put in. “Anything to do with Degan Grant is big news and worth sharing, which I'm going to do right now.” He mounted his horse and started off toward town, yelling back, “Don't wait on me for dinner!”

“I liked that Allison girl,” Mary said as she and Zachary continued walking to the house. “I'm so glad she was able to catch up with Degan.”

“Did your eyes stop on the word
marrie
d
?” Zachary teased. “Morgan says Degan married a pretty blonde, which Miss Montgomery isn't.”

Mary's brows went up before she sighed. “I suppose I should hope now that Allison doesn't catch up with him. Whatever is that gunfighter up to, marrying someone he barely knows instead of his long-lost love?”

*  *  *

Max had lost interest in the scenery the train was passing and it was only their first day of the trip to Texas. With this being her third train ride now, after the trip to Dakota and back, the thrill of riding so fast had passed. She even thought about taking a nap, though she wasn't tired.

At least she didn't have to be alone with Degan. She still blushed when she thought about what had happened on their wedding night. The girls in the brothel hadn't told her about that. Degan had sensed her embarrassment this morning and had said, “There's no need to blush about what happened last night. That's what married people do. I told you this marriage can be as fake as you want it to be, and that's how it will be until you tell me otherwise.”

The train they were riding wasn't fancy with private compartments; they were seated with all the other passengers and would be day and night. Grady and Saul were on the train somewhere. She'd seen them board it in Butte. They'd just made sure to sit in a different car. Or maybe Degan had seen to that.

This first leg of the trip was much shorter than Max had figured it would be. They would be reaching the main junction in Ogden, Utah, later that night, where they would switch to the train going East that would eventually connect with a Texas-bound train.

But over dinner in the dining car that evening, Degan told her, “We may have some trouble with our friend Pike to­morrow.”

She snorted. “He's no friend of ours. But why? Those two have been avoiding us.”

“They will expect us to catch the eastbound train tomorrow, but I'm thinking about spending a few days in the Ogden area instead of continuing on immediately.”

“Why?”

“I need to finish some business.”

She wasn't letting him get away with such a brief explanation. “What business?”

“John Hayes sent me a telegram in Butte, saying he got word from the US Marshals Service that Charles Bixford was spotted near Ogden. He's one of the outlaws John needs to apprehend.”

“I remember the notes on Red Charley.”

“They haven't been able to get a marshal out there yet, and the local sheriffs are reluctant to confront Bixford on their own.”

“So you're going after him?”

“Yes.”

Degan's changing their plans didn't please Max at all. She was in a tearing hurry to see her grandmother and to get Johnny out from under Carl's thumb, which was where she imagined he'd been since the signing of that damn guardianship decree. She hadn't expected this delay in getting home.

She stewed over what Degan had said, but as soon as they finished the meal and returned to their seats in the passenger car, she mentioned other options. “I know you still need to capture one more outlaw to pay back your friend, but why would you go after the worst of the lot? As I recall, there are a couple in Wyoming, which we'll be passing through on the way to Texas, and a couple more in Colorado, which we'll also be passing through. Why Red Charley?”

“I don't need to go after any more of them. Three have already been crossed off.”

“Because they dropped the charges against me?”

“No, because one of the two outlaws in Wyoming is already dead.”

She didn't ask how he knew that. He had to have witnessed it or been involved himself. But now that she knew he didn't have to go after the worst of the lot, she was even more perplexed by his decision.