Devils on Horseback: Gideon, Book 5 (9 page)

As she handed the boxes to Gideon, she couldn’t help but give him a triumphant smile. “I found more than what we need.”

He smiled in return, and Chloe’s world tilted a bit sideways. For all the times she’d seen an expression on his face, she’d never seen a true smile. It transformed him into the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. The man’s looks were positively lethal.

“What’s wrong?” His smile turned upside down, breaking the spell.

“Nothing that some fresh air won’t cure. There’s some powerful stink in here.”

He held out his hands to help her down, and she was going to tell him no, she could get down by herself. After all, hadn’t he seen her leap from the moving wagon earlier? However, she didn’t have time to tell him a thing. He grabbed her by the waist and plucked her from the wagon as if she weighed no more than a feather.

“Jesus, you are a little bit of a thing, aren’t you?” His voice had dropped low, his tone making a shiver dance across her skin.

“Big enough.” She couldn’t help but remember what had happened between them on the wagon seat. How it felt to have him deep inside her again. Her pussy throbbed once, and she stepped away from him, somewhat afraid of her reaction to his nearness.

“Fast and strong too.” He flashed her a grin. “Now let’s find a place to stop for the night.”

She walked around to the front of the wagon on unsteady feet. Gideon put her in all sorts of knots by smiling at her, hell, just by breathing. He was definitely dangerous for her equilibrium and her heart, not to mention her peace of mind. Yet he was by her side, searching for her family. He was a Southern gentleman, something she thought had drowned in the blood from the Civil War.

Chloe was pensive and off-kilter as they made their way down the trail. The twilight gave way to darkness, and still they traveled in silence. It was fine with her, since she didn’t know what to say to him anyway. How could she tell him that she wanted to travel by his side always? That they appeared to be meant to be together? It sounded foolish to her, and no doubt it would send him to the nearest saloon. Who would want a rough-talking, short, freckled, not-so-pretty orphan for a wife? She could bring nothing to a marriage except all her stellar qualities, or lack of them.

Her gloomy mood grew worse the farther they traveled. When he stopped the wagon, she peered into the night looking for whatever he’d spotted.

“What’s going on?” Chloe was surprised to see how dark it had become while she’d been mooning over him in her mind.

“We’re stopping. This is as good a place as any. I’m not risking the wagon or these old nags to get a few miles farther tonight. Let’s set up camp in that field there. I hear water too, and we can wash up. Maybe even find another canteen in this mess in the morning.”

Sounded like a fair plan, and Chloe was yet again glad he was there. She needed to regain her wits, and to do that she needed to steer clear of Gideon Blackwood.

Easier said than done.

* * * * *

They didn’t speak as they set up their camp. Gideon built a fire close to the wagon, using it as a buffer for the wind and anything else that might try to visit them during the night.

As she unpacked the supplies to make supper, he used the quilt and blanket they’d made into packs to create a bedroll. There was no way they were going to sleep in the wagon with all the junk in there, not to mention the smell. He laid out only one bed—no matter what happened, it was the safest for both of them. He expected her to squawk about it, but she just glanced at him occasionally as she worked.

What was he to think of that? Was she hoping they would sleep together or apart? Perhaps she might even sleep in the wagon. He dismissed that idea. She was as repulsed as he was by the stench of the peddler woman’s things. Gideon was out of his element and didn’t know what to do or what to say.

Chloe chipped away at his control, and that made him short-tempered. He’d yelled at her enough to make her hate him, or at the very least dislike him. Yet she continued on with him, counting on him to help her find her family. He had already vowed in his heart to help her no matter what.

As he finished readying the bedroll, she gathered up a few things in the wagon, then appeared holding what looked to be a bedsheet. Her gaze settled on him, and the blankness in her eyes made him nervous.

“I’m going to wash up.” She turned to go.

“No, you’re not going anywhere alone.” He rose and put his hands on his hips. “We’re in a strange place, with obvious dangers no matter which way we turn. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you go off in the dark by yourself.”

“I don’t want you peeking at me. I don’t need a protector.” She kept walking away.

“Chloe. I said no.”

She waved her hand in the air in dismissal.

Gideon thought perhaps his head would explode. “Chloe. Come back here.”

All he saw was her back disappearing into the woods. He stomped after her, furious and scared at the same time. She tied him into knots. Gideon wasn’t used to being disobeyed, and this little sprite was making him loco because she never listened to him.

“Don’t be peeking at me.” She had stopped by the creek, and from what he could see, she was glaring at him.

“I won’t peek, and I resent the fact you believe I would.” He didn’t mean to sound affronted, but it came out that way.

“I don’t know you from a hole in the ground, Mr. Blackwood. All we know is how to pleasure each other.” Her brazen words left him speechless.

She disappeared behind some bushes, and he took the opportunity to check the water. The creek was about eight feet wide with a gentle current. He cupped a mouthful and tasted it, and it was clean. Next thing he knew, a pair of legs went past him into the water. She either didn’t care if he peeked, or she hadn’t seen him squatting by the edge.

Either way, he was struck dumb by the sight of Chloe Ruskin in the moonlight. Her skin was like alabaster, glowing against the darkness around her. She was perfectly formed, curved in all the right places, with a round behind, long legs and beautiful breasts. Gideon’s dick tented in his trousers as he froze in place.

She scooped up sand from the bottom and started washing. He should back away and give her privacy. Yet something kept him there. She was like a selkie come to life, frolicking in the water and tempting him to join her. He shook his head to dispel the image and forced himself to creep backward. Unfortunately he stepped right on a stick that snapped with a loud crack.

“Are you peeking at me?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to come up with a reasonable response. “I was making sure you were safe.”

She hmphed and kept washing. “Then throw me my clothes over yonder so I can get them clean.”

Gideon rose, painfully aware of the throbbing erection between his legs, and found her clothes on a bush. The rough fabric should be burned, but he didn’t want to leave her with nothing to wear, however appealing that might be. He threw the clothes to her, and she murmured a thank-you.

With a tremendous amount of self-control, he turned his back to the sight of the incredibly delicious Chloe Ruskin naked in the water. He made himself recite Latin verbs in his head, leftovers from a childhood of schooling he never used. Then he recited recipes from the restaurant silently until he clenched his teeth so tight, he gave himself a headache.

“I’m done.” She breezed past him and the bush she’d laid her wet clothes on. To his shock, she wore only a bedsheet.

Gideon forgot how to think at all.

Her hair hung down her back like a dark curtain, framing her small shoulders. Dry, it sprang up into curls, but wet it was longer than he’d expected. She was slender, as though she would break if he dared to touch her again. It was an illusion though, because he knew how strong she was, probably the strongest woman he’d ever met. That hardness was tempered with what he could only think of as innocence. She seemed young and had experienced quite a bit due to the war, but whatever was happening between them, he sensed she was out of her element.

Her scent finally hit him, and his body clenched all at once. Chloe was rough around the edges, but she was a blossom in the briar patch. He just had to get through the prickers and reach her.

Gideon picked up her clothes from the bush and followed her. There was no other choice since she wouldn’t be safe alone and half-naked, yet he knew he was lying to himself if that was the only reason. She was a siren, a selkie calling him to her, and dammit to hell, he was helpless to resist.

It appeared the captain had met his colonel.

She sat in the firelight, finger-combing her wet hair. The bedsheet didn’t do much to disguise her shape. He couldn’t quite see through it, but his imagination and memory painted the picture of her naked form anyway. His dick grew another inch, and he had to squat by the fire or risk her noticing just how much he appreciated her near nakedness.

“Feel better?” His voice was rusty-sounding. Fool.

“Cleaner anyway.” She disappeared behind the wagon, and all he could see was her feet.

He told himself not to follow her, to give her respect instead of lusting after her like an idiot with no brain. With a painful thud, he sat on the hard ground and poked at the fire that had burned down a bit while they’d been at the water. The coals glowed orange in the darkness, and he didn’t take his eyes off them. Where he looked was something he could control. At least until she decided to parade around completely naked.

Gideon focused on his breathing until he was calmer. When she stepped back into view, he used every ounce of self-control he had not to look at her. The hard truth was he was fascinated by her, drawn to her, and it made him angry—at himself mostly. He’d spent too much time trying to find out exactly what his purpose was in life, leaving Tanger to find out where he belonged. Now he was losing his grip on all of it, including his self-control. Chloe muddied the waters too much. He needed to stop thinking about her, obsessing about her and certainly bedding her.

Chloe wasn’t sure what to think of Gideon’s behavior. He almost seemed nervous, which had to be impossible for the hard-nosed man. She told him not to follow her, yet he did, and then he acted odd. She needed to get clean, and if it offended him, so be it. Perhaps he hadn’t had to wash up out-of-doors much since he was from a rich family.

She had found a few surprisingly clean men’s shirts and trousers in the wagon. Now after a little while of airing on the side of the wagon, they’d be perfect to wear. Whoever they had belonged to had been short like Chloe; perhaps they might also fit. They weren’t made for her, but free clothes were never turned away, especially after the war. She pulled on the trousers first and realized she’d need a rope to hold them up.

Now she was in a tight spot. The rope was somewhere in the wagon, Gideon had thrown it in there, and it was too dark to find it. They’d used the only other rope to secure the animals. If she put on the shirt, the trousers would fall to her feet. However, she couldn’t parade around with nothing on but a pair of too-big trousers, or she would be shaking her titties at him. She decided to simply put the shirt on, and the trousers be damned. It was long enough to extend to her knees and covered most of her.

As Chloe came back around to the firelight, she thought a butterfly had landed in her stomach and flapped its wings. He stared at the flames, which was good. She didn’t want him ogling her bare legs anyway.

“You hungry?”

A grunt was his only response. She went over to the edge of the wagon and picked up the pack with the coffee pot and pans in it. The next ten minutes helped her relax. She brewed coffee and whipped up a batch of cornpone. The meal made things appear almost normal. Still, he did not look at her. She felt silly and suspicious at the same time.

“Coffee’s ready.” She poured herself a cup and sat back to sip it. The other tin cup waited on the rock beside the fire. “You sick or something?”

He finally turned to look at her, and she felt like she’d been burned by the coals. There was so much heat coming from his blue eyes, her breath caught in her throat. He took his time staring at her legs, her body, then her face, and she thought for sure she’d melt like butter on a skillet.

Holy God.

Chloe resisted the urge to fan herself, although the air between them must’ve been a hundred degrees. “I, uh, made coffee.”

“I realize that.”

“Don’t you want any?” She tugged at the shirt, wishing it was a bit longer.

“I’m too hot to drink coffee.” His voice was husky, nearly a low growl.

She was like a rabbit facing a wolf. With every bit of strength she had, Chloe looked away. “H-how about cornpone?”

“I’m not hungry for food.”

Oh boy. She managed to swallow some dry spit and pull out two tin plates from the pack. When she was looking for the knife to cut with, he appeared beside her. She let out a yelp and started so bad, she dropped the plates on her foot.

“Don’t be scared, Chloe.”

“I ain’t scared.” At least, she wasn’t scared of him anyway. No, she was afraid of her body’s reaction to his nearness and the way she swayed toward him without hesitation. Chloe had never felt such things before.

He reached up and cupped her cheek, his calloused thumb caressing her skin. “You are the most maddening, sassy, amazing woman I’ve ever met. You are driving me loco, you know that? I made a promise to myself to stop touching you, and then you appear in that shirt.”

Chloe didn’t know what to say. He thought she was amazing?

“I am going to be a gentleman if it kills me, but I wanted to ask your permission for a kiss.” He leaned closer, his breath whispering across her lips.

She couldn’t have denied him if she wanted to. “Kiss me already, you foolish man.”

It wasn’t what she expected. He brushed his lips across hers, the barest touch, then pulled away. She wanted to grab him and pull him close, press her lips to his and release the pent-up passion beating like a drum in her chest. Yet she didn’t and Chloe cursed her own cowardice. Looking him in the eye, she lost the courage she had used in the darkness of the night to climb into the wagon.