“It seems to me,” Kendall said, “Anyone wanting to gossip would have had enough fuel to do so already, considering that you left Mrs. Maddox behind in the first place then arranged for her to travel in the company of the Benedicts, with no chaperone, as you put it.”
“Perhaps it
is
partially my fault.” Maddox chose his words and his stance carefully. “I made the assumption that since you knew the Benedicts, they could be trusted. Perhaps I should have relied upon my father-in-law to arrange for Sarah’s transportation through Mr. Pinkerton’s agency.”
He’d handed Kendall a way out, but the man’s response wasn’t the one Maddox expected.
“You seem to be under the impression that the Benedict brothers are a couple of drifters, no-accounts, out to make a fast buck, who would hire out their guns without engaging their consciences. Cut from the same cloth as Dick Morgan and his gang.”
“I’m sorry, who?” Maddox asked.
“Five drifters known to run wild these last several years all throughout the southwest but in Missouri, mostly. It was Morgan and his men who attacked your wife’s stagecoach, and then tried again to shoot her in Springfield last night.”
Maddox looked at Kendall for a long moment, well aware the other man studied him closely. “The sheriff is certain of these facts?”
“Very certain. Look, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression Caleb and Joshua were like that, though I don’t know how I could have since you never asked me a single thing about them, never inquired into their backgrounds.”
Kendall
sat back then and got such a look on his face that if they’d been playing cards, Maddox would have folded then and there, regardless of his hand.
“So let me put your mind at ease. I’ve known Caleb and Joshua Benedict for more than a decade. We served together for two years in the Union Army. And since that time, they’ve drifted some, yes. But only because their mother died during the war of typhoid, and their sister, Becky, married a Southern sympathizer. Becky and her husband took over the family ranch, and the man hasn’t been too keen, to date, on having anything to do with his north-supporting brothers-in-law.
“And while they
have
been known to take on the odd job—such as escorting the wife of a wealthy rancher—mostly they’ve worked where needed as deputy United States Marshals.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Maddox was a good enough poker player he kept his expression from reflecting the riot of emotions coursing through him.
He
had
assumed the men he’d hired to escort Sarah to be the sort who wouldn’t question orders, who’d do the least of what was required of them for the cash being paid, and would put their lives and well-being first if the situation got dangerous.
He realized he’d been silent too long. “Well then, Captain Kendall. I feel much better. Thank you for easing my mind.” He paced to the window, looked out on the street before turning and skewering the ranger with a hard stare.
“The sheriff didn’t give me any details. He said only that an attempt had been made to kill my wife. Sarah has spent her entire life in Chicago, a pampered young chit of no consequence. I find it hard to believe that anyone would actually want to kill her.”
“That’s pretty much the conclusion the Benedicts and Sheriff MacFarlane came to as well. They believe that whoever targeted Sarah—twice, not once, so they do mean business, and there is no mistake that she indeed had been the target—likely is an enemy of yours or her father’s.”
“Matthew Carmichael, have an enemy that would go after his daughter? Highly unlikely. The man’s led an amazingly boring existence. His entire life is his modest sized business—that, and his second wife, a lovely young woman with very expensive tastes.”
Kendall
shook his head. “The father is boring and the daughter of no consequence. Not the family one would expect to see a man of your stature marry into.”
“Sarah suits my needs perfectly, not that it’s any business of yours. No, I can’t imagine anyone hating Carmichael enough to target his daughter. I, on the other hand, have made an enemy or two along the way. Of course I have. The one that comes to mind immediately, as a matter of fact, is Gareth Peterson.”
“I got that impression the other night during our poker game. We’re looking at Mr. Peterson, of course, and I will question him personally. All the hired guns who came after your wife are dead. Sheriff MacFarlane is questioning known associates of theirs, attempting to reconstruct events, hoping that someone in the Morgan gang had a big mouth and let slip who’d hired them.
“Beyond that, unless something more happens, there’s not much we can do here. You’ll let me know when your wife arrives safe and sound, and I’ll come out and speak to her.”
“Thank you, Captain. I will.”
Once back on the boardwalk, Maddox took his time, nodding to a man who greeted him, looking around The Square as anyone might on such a lovely summer day.
Inside, his thoughts scrambled. He’d misjudged the situation, and his failure in that regard more than displeased him. It alarmed him.
He’d been so sure of his course, he’d not made any contingency plans. He eased himself up on his horse, turned the creature toward home.
The feeling of eyes following his every move accompanied him long after anyone from the Ranger’s office could possibly still be watching him. That was the sign of a guilty conscience, which was laughable because Maddox didn’t have a conscience, guilty or otherwise.
He could only hope, as he headed for home, that his latest thoughts didn’t prove, in the end, to be his epitaph.
* * * *
Sarah came awake to the sensation of being lifted by strong masculine arms. Eyes closed, she snuggled against the naked male chest and inhaled deeply.
Joshua
. She wondered then if every woman could recognize the scent of her lover, or just those who, like her, were fortunate enough to have more than one of them.
“Where are you taking me?” She kept her eyes closed, but the brightness of daylight and the warmth of the sun on her flesh told her morning had broken.
“The stream.”
“Again? Fancy water a great deal, don’t you?”
“Well, I do, but that’s not why we’re going there.”
Sarah heard the smile in his voice and felt her lips spread in response. Memories of the night before, of being held on Joshua’s lap as water eddied past them flooded her memory. He’d cleansed her between her legs, his touch so soft and arousing that he’d had her writhing in no time. When he’d lifted her, spread her legs so that she’d straddled him, she’d been shocked. That sensation had only lasted a few seconds. Once he showed her how to take him into her body, to move in such a way as to pleasure them both, Sarah had found great joy in bringing them both to release.
“Caleb’s waiting for us there,” Joshua said, interrupting her reverie. “He’s found a spot that’s a bit deeper than what we used last night.”
“Why do we want deeper water?” She opened her eyes and watched as the trees gave way to the babbling stream.
He kissed the top of her head, and Sarah snuggled deeper into his embrace. “We were greedy with you last night, love. You’ve got to be sore this morning.”
Sarah
had
noticed an insistent ache between her legs and deeper, up inside her, where her two virile lovers had spent so much time the night before.
“Mmm. I am.” She thought she should protest being carried, but the very fact she felt sore made her stay mum. She enjoyed being carted around. It made her feel cherished.
“We were careful after the first time, so there’s no more blood on you. I checked. But still, we really should have let you alone after we’d each had you once.”
“You aren’t solely responsible for the tenderness I feel. It seems to me I awoke in the middle of the night and made some demands of my own.”
“For which we shall be eternally grateful.”
Caleb came into view and his statement, along with Joshua’s personal commentary, made her blush.
“I shouldn’t be embarrassed after last night,” she mumbled. Both men laughed at her discomfiture, but she sensed nothing unkind in their amusement.
“This is just our first morning as lovers,” Caleb said as he lifted her from Joshua’s arms. He held her as easily as his brother had. “It will probably take you until at
least
tomorrow to rid yourself completely of your embarrassment.”
“Rid myself of my embarrassment? It’s called modesty, I’ll have you know. Even virtue, by some.” Sarah sighed. “Though I guess we took care of getting rid of my virtue last night.”
“Not in our eyes,” Joshua said. There was an edge to his tone that brooked no argument. His attitude made her feel good. She knew they held affection for her because of the tender and caring way they treated her. It was good to know they respected her, too. Still, she felt a bit ill at ease with all the personal privilege these twins claimed.
“I can walk,” she said. Sarah had no idea why she felt compelled to protest.
“We know. And we’ll let you start doing things for yourself tomorrow. For the rest of today, why not let us pamper you? All right?”
The water felt colder in this deeper part than where she’d bathed, and been bathed, the night before.
“It’ll ease the pain,” Caleb whispered against her head. He used his hand to gently rub low on her belly. The touch comforted more than it aroused.
Joshua joined them and though it was unnecessary, helped support her. She was submerged to her chest. They had been right. The cold water did help ease the uncomfortable feeling between her thighs.
Joshua palmed the soap and rubbed it gently across her breasts. The light rose perfume teased her senses, the fragrance adding to her pleasure.
Something Caleb had just said niggled.
“Tomorrow I can do for myself? Aren’t we getting underway soon? Traveling?”
“Not today, Sarah. What with the way we both rode you last night, you need to take it easy today,” Caleb said. One thing she knew for certain, if they kept talking to her like this she certainly
would
rid herself of her embarrassment in a day or two.
“But I thought we were in a hurry,” Sarah said. She had to struggle to hang on to the thread of the conversation. The twin sensations of hands caressing her flesh and rigid cocks pressing against her hips had her in a state of near total arousal.
On the other hand, she didn’t feel sore in quite the same way anymore. In fact, the ache between her thighs had changed subtly to an ache of emptiness and need.
“We were in a hurry to get out of Springfield without being seen or followed,” Caleb said. “And we did.”
“We can take this one day, sweetheart,” Joshua added. “You deserve the chance to recover.” Joshua plucked and pulled at one of her nipples at the same time Caleb slid his hand down lower to cover her mound. He moved his fingers back and forth, his clever action quickly awakening her clitoris.
Sarah couldn’t hold back the groan that seemed to rise from deep down in her womb.
“Or to put it another way,” Caleb said, his husky words brushing the shell of her ear in hot, scintillating breath. “When a woman fucks her lovers for the first time, she ought to be able to relax the next day.”
Their words inflamed her. Their bodies enticed her. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m not feeling very relaxed at the moment.” She reached down, took an erect cock in each hand. She knew how to touch them now, knew how to give them pleasure with just her hands. “And neither do you. I have a feeling we’re going to be busy for a while. So much for my recovery time.”
“Oh, darling,” Joshua said, clearly enjoying her touch, “there’s more than one way to reach pure pleasure.”
“That’s right.” Caleb tilted her face up and brought his down so that a bare inch separated them. “There’s more than one path to heaven. Let us show you.”
Chapter 10
Sarah loved the taste of them. Something in the flavor of each of her lovers fed the flames of her hunger. The combination of Caleb and Joshua simply drove her wild.
The men had arranged all three bedrolls together, one atop the other, and moved them under the shade of the trees. She was naked in the middle of the day, lying on the ground but cushioned so that the hardness of it didn’t bother her, touching and being touched by two naked men. In that moment, it seemed the most natural way in the world to spend the morning.
There was not another soul for miles, the only sounds to reach her other than her own tiny groans and whimpers the sounds of nature—the birds, the breeze through the tree tops, and the soft huffs of their horses grazing near-by.
“You have to tell us what you like,” Joshua said, bending to take one of her nipples into his mouth. He nipped it lightly with his teeth, and then sucked it hard, elongating it. He released it with a wet plop, and then blew on it. The cold air made her shiver, sending her arousal even higher.
She never could have imagined that there existed a connection between her breasts and her womb. But every time one of them sucked hard on one of her nipples, she felt an answering tug deep inside her.