Compromised Cowgirl (33 page)

“There’s a few kittens ready to leave their momma,” said Ace gently to the girl. “John Tanner’s looking for a couple to keep the mice down at the Mercantile. How about I bring Jessie back in a few days with a basket of them? You could choose yours first, if that meets Miss Rosa’s approval.”

Rosa
scowled at him, but he also caught the wink. For some reason she wanted Molly to think she was anything but soft.

This time when the door closed behind Ace, the bolt moved gently into its slot. Jessie almost skipped beside him.

“I didn’t know choosing a hat could be fun,” she said. “Sarah explained all about the things Mrs. Dawes had. Ribbons and lace and everything.”

Ace’s heart lifted at hearing Jessie behave like a young woman for once. Jessie’s hand crept under his elbow. He patted her fingers and held her close.

“Do you think we have time for a kiss before lunch?”

He stopped at Jessie’s sensuous words and looked down at her. The hat suited her, pert and bright with a swath of net across her forehead that she could lift down if she wanted to be mysterious.

“I always have time to kiss my wife.”

She pursed her lips the same way she had that day in the hot spring, like an inexperienced virgin. The sparkle in her eyes proved she’d done it on purpose, daring him. He kissed her quickly on the cheek and set her walking again beside him. He shortened his steps so she could keep up with him.

“That wasn’t a kiss!”

“I’m hungry, wife. If we don’t get a seat soon, Sophie won’t have any left.” He looked at the sky. Clouds had drifted in while he and Doc talked. If he wanted a decent meal and still get home before the rain hit, they couldn’t waste time.

Jessie huffed but followed along. He planned to kiss her in the dining room in a way that would set Mrs. Jennett’s bombazine-covered chest heaving in outrage. Not that she would ever cross the threshold of anything as common as a hotel, of course.

When they passed the buggy, he noticed that Billy had put a bucket of water where the horse could easily reach. He’d ask Sophie to send a piece of pie out to the boy as an extra thank you. While he looked fairly well cared for, Ace remembered always being hungry when he was that size.

He noticed that Jessie automatically used her gloved fingers to gently lift her skirts to climb the stairs to the hotel. When they entered the anteroom and she released them, she set him a look daring him to comment. He winked, and she huffed.

The level of noise dropped for a moment when they walked into the dining room, but it soon returned to full clatter. They found a table for two near the back and settled in. The food was delicious after the quick meals Henry prepared. Jessie’s manners were as proper as his, though her appetite was far heartier than most women. After all, she spent most the day in the saddle and, except for her generous curves, was mostly muscle.

All day, Jessie had acted as the perfect wife. She was polite, charming, and gracious. It was too good to be true. He leaned back, stirring his coffee. Sure enough, she had a calculating look, as if deciding how far to push him.

He knew she would test him. The previous time in town he’d humiliated her in front of the sheriff. He’d threatened her, insisting she show her respect by obeying him in public or he’d punish her. At the time, she thought he would beat her, though hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do.

Then Trace and Beth showed him how to do what was right for them and let everyone else go hang. Ace wasn’t sure what Beth and Amelia had said to Jessie before their wedding, but he figured he was going to find out soon. He stood up and held his hand out to assist her.

“Shall we go home, now?”

“I think not,” she replied. She smoothed her skirt, avoiding his eyes.

“There’s work to be done and it’s likely to rain.”

“I want to go to the Mercantile.”

She didn’t try to keep her voice down. Neither did he.

“We don’t need anything.”

She sent him an icy glare. “I ordered some throwing knives. They should be in.”

Just what he needed, his wife even better armed. He looked around the room. Quite a few men leaned back in their chairs, openly enjoying the show. Considering they had a snowball’s chance in hell of finding a wife, they were happy to enjoy someone else’s.

There was no better time for him to make a scene. He’d prove, to Jessie and the lazy louts, that he was the one who wore the pants in the Langford cabin. He knew his wife well enough by now to see that she was playing a game with him. The same game Beth and Trace enjoyed playing in public. He set his fists on his hips and put on his father’s most pompous expression.

“I said, no.”

She shoved her chair back, the scraping noise loud in the suddenly quiet room. She stood, chin jutting out, and glared at him. “It’s my money. I can buy what I want!”

“You will have what I allow and nothing more.” He spoke calmly, as if disciplining a child. Her nostrils flared, and she narrowed her eyes at him. She tried to inhale but, because of the corset, could only pant. Only he knew that under her shawl her breasts threatened to escape from her dress.

“Let her have the knives,” shouted a deep voice from across the room. “Maybe she can teach you to throw them half as well.”

Jessie sent a wide smile in the man’s direction.

“She can have the knives if she wants, but it will cost her,” Ace called out.

Jessie met his eyes and swept off her shawl. She faced him, her back to most of the room, but whistles of appreciation still rose from around the room. She leaned slightly forward, emphasizing the dark space between her breasts. The space where she knew he wanted to insert his hard cock.

“I want those knives,” she repeated.

He stepped close and leaned over so she had to straighten up.

“Then you’ll spend four days without clothes, my choice of when and where,” he growled. He nodded and waved in reaction to the whistles and cheers from their audience. She gasped. A flush rose from between her breasts to cover her face.

“I’ll show you how to throw my knives,” she countered.

He pretended to ponder the decision, and then shook his head. “No dice. I can figure that out for myself. The bet is, four days naked. You going to meet me, or do I raise the stakes?”

She flicked her tongue over her bottom lip. That usually went with her nipples hardening. He’d have to thank Trace for some of his suggestions for “punishment.”

“I’ll”—her eyes flicked down as she thought—“I’ll cook dinner for a week.” She pressed her shoulders back and inhaled as deeply as she could. He almost bit his tongue as her breasts swelled. She liked to play dirty tricks, did she? He crossed his arms and slowly shook his head.

“You just raised the stakes, so I’ll match the bet. Dinner for four days, naked another three. And I raise you no drawers in town for a month.”

Hoots, catcalls, and the pounding of fists on wooden tables drowned out her reply, but he was sure it wasn’t polite.

“I didn’t hear your answer, wife. Care to repeat it?”

She pushed out her lower lip in a pout. It was real, not the practiced ones the
London
society misses used.

“I made my bet,” he said. He leaned over and whispered loud enough for most of the room to hear. “And those drawers will come off before you leave this room.”

“You rogue!” She stabbed her finger against his chest. He left it there, enjoying her rage. “Fine! I’ll cook your dinner for four days and…whatever for another three. But I will not take my drawers off in this dining room!”

A chorus of booing came from around them.

“I’ll accept the deal except for one change.”

“What!”

“
I
take your drawers off as soon as we get on Double Diamond land.” He remembered the darkening clouds. “If not today, then the next time we travel home in the buggy.”

A deeper flush waved up her body. She inhaled, and confined by the corset, her breasts came dangerously close to escaping. He picked up her shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders. He leaned close for a kiss. Holding the shawl closed with one hand, he slipped the other in the cleft between her breasts. She moaned into his mouth before returning his kiss eagerly. He didn’t notice anything but his wife’s body molded to his.

“Sealed with a kiss,” he murmured a few moments later, breathing just as hard as she. He raised his voice. “Shall we look for something bright and shiny for you to play with, wife?”

“Yes, husband,” she replied. She dropped her hand and, knowing she was hidden from the room, ran her fingers along his hard cock. She smiled sweetly in revenge.

“That calls for a spanking,” he murmured, too low for their audience to hear.

“That depends on how many knives I get.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Get back in there, you rascal!” Jessie gently shoved the marmalade kitten back onto the soft flannel that lined the bottom of the basket. “If I wasn’t a woman of my word, I’d leave you by the side of the road.”

She swung the basket forward and back, hoping the motion would convince the four kittens that it was time to sleep, not explore the outside world. The others settled, but the orange one was determined to make his own way in the world. He was her favorite, of course.

She avoided a patch of dung and kept plodding. She couldn’t remember ever walking this far. Maybe when she was too small to ride a horse by herself, before her parents died. Never in a long skirt, though. She couldn’t even stretch her legs enough to get a good stride.

“Jessie!”

She turned at the high voice. A buggy rapidly approached. “Thank God!”

Beth smiled broadly, unable to wave as both her hands were busy with the reins. Amelia’s arms were full of her baby niece, Hope. Jessie shuddered. She’d take a basket full of kittens over a baby any day. When Beth stopped, Jessie handed her the basket. She adjusted her holster so the pistol pointed down her back, hauled up her skirts, and climbed up beside Amelia.

“Jessie, you take Hope and let Amelia hold your basket,” said Beth. “She’s not in any condition to hold a fussy baby.”

Jessie gritted her teeth. She set the basket at her feet and held out her arms. The fiery-haired little girl eagerly came to her. Hope was warm and smelled like sage. The baby smiled and patted her cheek.

“What’s got you in a dress?” said Beth, and they started off. “The gun belt doesn’t quite match your outfit, but this
is
the West.”

“Ace and I were almost ready to go to town with the kittens I promised to Molly and Sarah, and John Tanner. Then half the valley came roaring into the yard yelling something about Fin bringing a judge to town.”

“Why didn’t you go with them?” asked Amelia “I thought Ace still had that buggy he rented for your wedding.”

Jessie moved Hope’s fingers from her lips so she could talk. “They wanted to gallop off with your husbands. Ace doesn’t want me off the ranch without him, so he took the reins with him. He knew I couldn’t ride in this dress and I can’t get it off without help. So I started walking. I’m surprised you two faced dire punishment by taking off alone.”

“We had to,” said Amelia. “After Trace left, Beth found the wedding certificate.” She looked at Beth and both broke out laughing. “She put it in the book we want to lend you.” She pointed at a white pillowcase under Beth’s seat. “We have to show the paper to the judge, but you’ll bring the pillow book home.”

“Why do you call it a pillow book? Because you put it in a pillow case?”

“No, because you put it under your pillow,” said Beth, snickering. “Amelia found it in her father’s library. It has very detailed drawings of what men and women can to do pleasure each other.”

Jessie’s body flooded with arousal. Her friends laughed outright.

“If any of your men saw the expression on your face, they’d tumble you right on the side of the road,” said Beth. “Make sure you get a good look at every picture before showing it to Ace. Once they get their hands on it, they’ll want to try everything.”

Jessie laughed. “I’ll keep it until I want to do something that will make Ace think he needs to “punish” me.”

“Strategic thinking,” said Amelia, understanding at once.

Beth slowed the buggy to a walk as they entered Tanner’s Ford. Men filled the porch of the hotel, jostling to see.

Jessie climbed down at Miss Lily’s. The white lace curtains fluttered, so she knew
Rosa
saw her. She took the basket and hurried to the kitchen. She knocked, set the basket down, hiked up her skirts and ran to the hotel.

The three women, along with Hope, managed to push their way onto the porch, but that was as far as they got. Beth tried to use the pointed corner of the book to jab her way forward, but it didn’t work.

“Get out of the way, we’ve got important evidence,” yelled Amelia.

No one heard over the noise or, if they did, didn’t care. Though Amelia hid her worry on the drive, Jessie saw she was beginning to get agitated as there was so much at stake.

Realizing she was far too short and small to do much on her own, Jessie pulled out her pistol. She stomped over to the stunned men, gun aimed at their back and began poking her way through.