“Give up Sunrise?” Diamond tossed her head. “I’ve been riding her since she was a frisky filly. I wouldn’t dream of giving her up.”
“You’ll soon have no choice,” Jade said in that calm, logical tone that always set Diamond’s teeth on edge. “If you get any bigger, you won’t be able to fit in the saddle. And you really ought to give up your buckskins and gun belt, too. It just doesn’t look right for a new mother.”
Ruby, seeing that her sisters’ thoughtless comments were spoiling Diamond’s mood, interrupted. “Do not fret,
chdrie.
Babies have a way of being born, no matt er how their mothers dress, or what their choice of travel. But know this. You and Adam will be loving parents. As will you, Pearl and Cal. And your children will consider themselves very lucky.”
The smile returned to Diamond’s eyes. Across the table Adam shot Ruby a look of gratitude.
Carmelita, having composed herself, entered with a tray laden with slices of hot apple pie. While everyone murmured their approval and began devouring the dessert, she circled the table, filling their cups with coffee. When she paused beside Diamond’s chair, and then Pearl’s, she couldn’t resist touching a hand to their hair.
“You will make beautiful mothers,” she whispered.
Diamond hugged her, then, to no one’s surprise, announced that she’d like a second slice of pie. Pearl’s smile was so bright she seemed to glow.
“By the way,” Jade said to her sisters, “I hope I can count on all of you to help with the town’s first social.”
“When?” Ruby asked.
“How can you ask such a thing?” Jade demanded. “Ruby, where has your mind been?”
“On her new shop,” Diamond said. “And all those fancy gowns she’s been sewing all night, every night. How many do you have now?”
“Nearly a dozen,” Ruby replied. “I want enough to fill the shop when it opens. Which will be sooner than expected. That’s why I invited you here tonight. To celebrate the fact that the outer walls of my shop have been completed. I should be open for business within a week or two.”
“And here we are, spoiling your celebration by barging in with our own news,” Pearl said.
“Not at all.” Ruby was quick to soothe. “There’s nothing I would like more than to celebrate all good news with my family.” She turned to Jade. “Now, tell me about the town social.”
“It’s going to be held on the last Sunday of the summer. Dan and I thought it would be nice to get the ranchers together with the folks from town.”
“They’ve been doing that for years,” Diamond remarked. “Every time there’s a hanging. That’s how the town got its name.”
“That’s why we’re planning this town social,” Danny said with a laugh. “We thought that might be more fun than a hanging.”
Though Diamond merely shrugged, the others looked interested.
“Why now?” Ruby asked.
“Because by summer’s end the crops will be harvested, and the wranglers will be preparing for the long cattle drive. Since they’ll be on the trail for a couple of months, we thought this was the perfect time to bring everyone together, before the winter cold sets in.”
“What are you planning?” Ruby asked excitedly.
“A potluck supper. A few games of chance for the men, and maybe a quilting bee for the ladies. Some races for the children. And dancing.”
“Oh, my.” Pearl sighed. “I haven’t danced since I left Boston.”
Cal gave a laugh. “Well, don’t look at me. I’ve never danced. Wouldn’t know how.”
“I’ll teach you,” she said.
“Fair enough. Then I’ll think of a couple of things to teach you.” Across the table he winked at his wife, and her cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink.
By the time they retired to the parlor for brandy and coffee, they felt happily content. The women were busy discussing food for the social. The men’s talk, as always, centered around work.
Finally, when the glasses were empty, and their cigars had been smoked, Adam took a look at his wife and tossed the remains of his cigar into the fireplace. “Come on, Diamond. I’d better get you home before you fall asleep in the saddle.”
“I have been feeling a little tired lately.” Diamond stifled a yawn. “Think it’s because of the baby?”
Pearl nodded. “I feel the same way. But I really don’t know.”
Her sisters looked at each other, then shook their heads as they were forced to admit that their knowledge of childbirth was sadly limited.
Diamond turned to Carmelita as she began to gather the tray and glasses. “Will this feeling pass?”
“Sí
But for now, you should do what your body demands, and sleep.”
“Come on, Diamond,” Adam called. “We have a ranch to run in the morning. Although it looks like I might be running it alone pretty soon,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “You have something even more important to consider.”
She shot her sisters a look of surprise. “I never thought I’d consider anything more important than the ranch chores. It seems like I’m learning something new every day.”
“We’ll ride out with you,” Cal said. “Morning chores start awfully early.”
Pearl nodded, and looped her arms through Gil’s and Daniel’s. The others followed them out the door. On the porch they kissed good-night, prepared to take their leave.
“You coming, Quent?” Diamond called sleepily.
“You go ahead. I’ll be along,” the marshal said.
“But we’re going your way and—” Her voice was abruptly cut off as her husband gave her a gentle nudge in the ribs.
“You take your time, Quent. We’ll see you later.” Adam’s voice was warm with unspoken laughter.
“Yeah. Thanks.” Quent stood on the porch beside Ruby, watching until the others rode away amid the clatter of carriage wheels and horses’ hooves.
Ruby continued peering into the darkness, feeling suddenly shy and awkward. “Would you like to come in for another piece of Carmelita’s pie?”
“No, thanks. I’ve had enough.”
“Coffee, perhaps? I could make you some café au lait, the way we made it in the bayou.”
Quent shook his head.
“There must be something...” Her voice trailed off as he placed a hand over hers, resting on the porch railing. The feeling that shot along her arm had her trembling.
Quent spent a very long time watching the path of a shooting star. When he spoke, his voice seemed lower, deeper. “You know why I stayed. It wasn’t more food or drink I wanted.”
His words sent a shiver along Ruby’s spine. She turned to study his profile. “I think—”
“Don’t think.” When a breeze caught a strand of her hair, he lifted a hand to it. “Just let me look at you.”
She stood very still, absorbing the shock of his touch.
He studied her in the glow of moonlight and felt his throat go dry. “I guess I knew that day in my office that one kiss would never be enough. I’m going to have to kiss you again.”
He framed her face with his big hands and stared down into her eyes. He lowered his head slowly, so slowly she felt her heart stop and her breath back up in her throat. And then, when she thought she couldn’t bear to wait a moment longer, his lips found hers.
The kiss was unlike any they’d shared before. He kept his eyes open, watching her. His hands remained lightly touching her face, the thumbs moving ever so gently across her jaw. His lips brushed hers with the softness of a feather, the merest whisper of mouth to mouth.
She was so deeply affected, she couldn’t move. She held herself stiffly, afraid that if she so much as breathed too deeply, her bones would snap like fragile glass.
The feel of his work-roughened hands against her skin was so incredibly erotic. The thought of them touching her, all of her, had the blood pounding in her temples. She lifted her hands to his wrists, and felt the throbbing of his pulse. Its erratic rhythm matched her own.
Though he kept the kiss soft and light, she could feel the tension vibrating in him. Could feel the surge of blood pumping through his veins.
When at last he lifted his head and stared down at her, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He traced a finger around the outline of her lips, and felt her trembling response.
His voice was rough. “You know there’s something between us, Ruby. It’s been there from the first time we saw each other.”
He combed his fingers through her hair, drawing her head back. She waited for another kiss, but he held back, as though testing himself, gauging just how much inner strength he could summon. And then, with a sigh, he covered her mouth with his. Against her lips he muttered, “God knows, I’ve tried to deny it. But no more. No more.”
As he took the kiss deeper, her arms glided up his arms, feeling the tightly bunched muscles. Her arms slid higher, to his shoulders, and then encircled his neck as she gave herself up to the pleasure. A pleasure unlike any she’d ever known.
How could one man’s mouth do such clever things? With only his lips, his teeth, his tongue he took her on a wild ride, climbing, climbing, until her lungs were starved for air.
She couldn’t hold a single coherent thought. All she could do was feel. The wild beating of a runaway heart. The heating of her blood, until she thought her flesh would surely melt. The mingling of his breath and hers. And his taste. Dark. Mysterious. Dangerous. And distinctly male.
She breathed him in, filling herself with the scents of horses and leather and whiskey. When his lips left hers, to explore the sensitive hollow of her throat, she clung to him, and moved in his arms. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips. A sigh that soon turned to a soft moan as his lips moved lower, to the swell of her breast. Despite the barrier of chemise and gown, she felt her nipple harden. And was shamed by her body’s betrayal.
“Senorita Ruby, I will leave now. Rosario is here....” The door slammed. Carmelita’s voice trailed off when she realized what she’d interrupted.
Two heads came up. The two darkened figures straightened.
Ruby was grateful that Quent kept his arms around her, for she feared that without his support, she would surely fall.
“Thank you, Carmelita.” Her voice wavered, the words stilted, formal. “Good night.”
“Sí
Good night. Would you like to ride along with us, Marshal? Rosario and I would enjoy your company.”
“Thanks, Carmelita.” Quent’s tone was rough with frustration. “But I think I’ll stay awhile.”
“Sí.”
There was a hint of suppressed laughter in the housekeeper’s voice. “There is a chill in the air tonight. Perhaps the two of you should go indoors, where you would be more comfortable.”
When the door closed behind her, Quent turned to the woman in his arms and pressed his lips to a tangle of hair at her temple. “Maybe I ought to go now, while there’s still time.”
She panicked at the thought of him leaving. “Time?”
“To come to our senses. If I stay, Ruby, I know where this will lead. And so do you.”
Ruby struggled to calm her wildly beating heart. He was giving her a choice. It would be her decision, to send him on his way or to give in to the desperate longing of her heart.
Oh, why did it have to be Quent Regan’s touch that unlocked all this longing? Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be a lawman? He was wrong for her. They both knew it. Still, knowing didn’t change anything. As he’d said, there was something between them. Something she could no longer deny. She wanted him, as she’d never wanted anyone.
Oh, Papa,
she thought.
Is this how it was between you and Mama?
Until this moment Ruby hadn’t understood how Madeline St. Jacque and Onyx Jewel could have been swept away by passion. Or how they could have flouted convention to be with each other again and again. But now she was experiencing the same desperate need. And she was about to make the same terrible mistake.
“Don’t go,” she whispered as the clatter of carriage wheels faded, and Carmelita and Rosario were swallowed up by the darkness. “I want you to stay.”
“Dear God, Ruby.” His hands tightened at her shoulders, and he pressed his forehead to hers. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
She nodded.
He hauled her roughly against him and covered her mouth with his in a kiss so hot, so hungry, it left no doubt of his intentions.
Chapter Ten
Q
uent swept Ruby into his arms and carried her across the porch. He braced a foot against the door, kicking it inward. Then he headed toward the stairs.
He’d thought he’d have to ask which room was hers. But there was no need. As he paused outside an open door, he caught the faint whiff of sweet crushed roses. Without a word he strode inside, then paused beside the bed and set her on her feet.
Moonlight streamed through the window, painting her with soft golden light.
He framed her face with his hands and kissed her forehead, her temple, her cheek.
She stood, her face lifted to his, trembling beneath his touch.
He’d thought of this. Planned it in his mind. All those nights on the trail, alone under the stars, he’d thought of her. And what he’d do when he returned. The vision of her had played in his mind, teasing him, tempting him, driving him half-mad with desire.
But now they were here, together, and his fantasies had been nothing compared with reality.
“Ruby, you’re so lovely you take my breath away.” He kissed the tip of her nose, the corner of her mouth, the curve of her jaw.
And still she waited, trembling, for the moment when his mouth would claim hers.
Instead he explored her ear, his tongue plunging, his breath tickling, until she sighed and tried to draw away. But he pulled her closer. And his hands began an exploration of their own.
His strong, work-roughened fingers trailed the slope of her shoulders, touching, kneading, before sliding down her arms.
“Quent...”
“Shh.” He touched his lips to hers, silencing her.
It was the softest of kisses. And all the while his clever hands continued to touch, to excite, to arouse. When she twined her arms around his neck, his hands moved up her sides until his thumbs encountered the swell of her breasts.
She started to pull back, but he distracted her by taking the kiss deeper. At that she leaned into him, wanting to give more. Wanting to give all. His thumbs stroked her already erect nipples until she moaned and clutched at him.
“How many clothes are you wearing?” he muttered.
“A dress, a chemise, petticoat...”
Her words stilled as, with great patience, he unfastened the row of tiny buttons and slid the gown from her shoulders. It pooled at her feet, dark and shimmering in the glow of moonlight.
He cupped a hand to the back of her head and pressed light kisses over her upturned face.
“I want to see you. All of you,” he murmured as he untied the ribbons of her chemise.
It parted, revealing pale, creamy flesh.
It occurred to Ruby that she had no feelings of shame. She had always known that one day a man would see her, as Quent was now. And it would be right. So right. As it was now.
“Ruby, you’re so beautiful.” Because he wanted to crush her to him, he deliberately kept his hands light, easy, as he drew her close for another slow, drugging kiss. “I want to touch you. All of you.”
“And I want to touch you.” She reached a hand to the buttons of his shirt, but her fingers fumbled.
“I’ll do that.” He helped her, shrugging out of his clothes. They joined hers in a heap at their feet.
He drew her close, and she was surprised at how beautifully their bodies fit together. Hers all soft and curving; his hard and muscled.
“You’re trembling,” he murmured against her temple. “Are you afraid?”
“No.” She whispered the word against his throat and was surprised by his low moan of pleasure. “Well, maybe a little.”
Pleased at her newly discovered power, she ran openmouthed kisses along his throat, as he’d done, and heard his moan turn into a growl.
“You needn’t be afraid,” he muttered. “I should be the one trembling. You make me weak, Ruby.”
Growing bolder, she pressed more wet kisses to his shoulder, then gently nipped his flesh. “I’m trembling because you’re here with me. Touching me.”
With a shudder he put his arms around her, pinning her to the length of him.
He drew her down until they were both kneeling. He surprised her by catching her hand and lifting it to his mouth, where he pressed a kiss to the palm. He watched her eyes darken with desire as he kissed her wrist, the inside of her elbow, the top of her arm. And then his lips covered hers in a kiss that spoke of all the hunger, all the longing he’d kept hidden inside him for so long.
She gasped and started to pull back, but his hands were at her back, holding her. And then those same clever hands were moving, seducing, arousing, and she moaned and pulled him close.
He could feel himself starting to lose control. But it was too soon. He’d waited so long, and he wanted to savor every precious moment, every delicious taste of this sultry woman in his arms.
“Do you want me to tell you all the things I’ve been wanting to do to you?” he growled against her throat.
She dug her fingers into his hair and lifted his head until she could see his eyes. “No.”
He blinked.
A slow smile crept across her lips. “I’d rather you showed me.”
It was as though her words were a key that unlocked a secret door. A door that revealed a caged beast.
He dragged her into his arms. The hands stroking her were no longer gentle. And his mouth savaged hers until her lungs screamed for air.
“Do you know, Ruby? Have you any idea what I want?” He laid her down on the floor, cushioned only by their discarded clothes, and feasted on her lips, while his hands worked their magic. Suddenly greedy, he reveled in her gasps of pleasure, her moans of desperation.
Now he took her on a wild ride, climbing, then falling, and all the while pleasuring her. Pleasure beyond belief. And always keeping the final release just out of reach.
She was hot. So hot she couldn’t seem to get enough air into her lungs. The heat rose, clogging their throats, bathing them in a fine sheen.
Outside, the night was alive with sound. Insects chirped. A night bird sang. On a distant rise a coyote cried for its mate, but neither of them heard.
Their world had been reduced to this room, and the pleasure each brought the other. Here the sounds were muted. A sigh. A moan. A whisper.
Quent watched her face as she lost herself in the pleasure. At first she lay floating on a cloud of sensations. But as the lovemaking increased, the feelings intensified, and her body became alive with need.
He felt a thrill of power. This was how he’d wanted her. How he’d known she would be. Wild. Raging. Lost in him. Her face flushed with pleasure. Her body a mass of nerve endings. And desperate for what only he could give her.
“Tell me,” he whispered against her throat. “Tell me you want me.”
“I do. I want you.”
He could feel his control slipping. Slipping. The caged beast had been unleashed, and was stalking, seeking relief.
He levered himself above her. “Say my name, Ruby. I want to hear my name on your lips.”
“Quent,” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said in a voice husky with desire. “Say it again.”
Her eyes opened. “Quent. Quent.” Oh, what a lovely name. Why had she never spoken it aloud before?
She smiled dreamily. “I want you, Quent.”
He plunged into her, mad with need.
And froze.
“God in heaven.” The oath was torn from his lips as he realized what he should have known all along. Hadn’t his heart always known?
“Quent, what is it?” She gripped his upper arms, feeling the ripple of fear as he started to pull away.
He couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when she was so high. But there was something she had done wrong. Or something, perhaps, she should have done.
“You’re...” He could feel the need tearing at him, desperate now for release. But still he halted, one step away from paradise.
“You should have told me, Ruby. You’ve never...” He swore again, hating himself. Seething with frustration. “You’re a virgin.”
“Oui.”
Her smile bloomed. “You are my first.” She lifted a hand to his cheek in the sweetest of gestures. “Are you sorry?”
“Sorry?” He ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of helplessness. “It’s every man’s dream. I guess I should be flattered. But I didn’t realize...” He knew his willpower was about to be tested to the limit. He pressed his forehead to hers, praying he could find the strength to do the honorable thing. “A man has certain obligations.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew his mouth down to hers. “Please, Quent,” she whispered against his lips, “you cannot leave me like this. Please.”
His heart was pumping so hard, he thought it might explode. And his breath was coming in shallow gasps.
And then she wriggled. And moved. And wrapped herself around him, drawing him fully into her.
And he was lost.
One moment he was trying desperately not to hurt her. The next he was driving hard and deep, feeling pleasure beyond anything he’d ever known.
She moved with him, strong and sure, her young body keeping time with his, wanting more. Wanting all.
And then she forgot everything as she began spiraling out of control.
He felt the shudders as they swept through her, and heard her little cry as she reached the crest.
And then he followed her, his body exploding, shattering.
Limp, exhausted, they lay, still joined. He pressed his lips to her hair, breathing in the sweet, earthy fragrance that he knew would stay in his memory for a lifetime. From now on, the perfume of roses would always remind him of this night, and this rare, surprising woman.
“Ruby. Ruby.” He whispered her name like a prayer.
She had gone so quiet, it worried him. He was already beginning to fill with remorse.
“I’m sorry, Ruby.” He wanted to move, to get up. But it seemed too much effort. And so he lay, lifting one hand to brush the hair from her eyes. “I should have stopped this before it got so out of hand. I just didn’t know...”
She caught his hand and brought it to her lips. “Shh. I’ve never known you to talk so much. Usually the words have to be dragged from you.”
Surprised, he levered himself up so he could see her eyes. “You don’t sound sorry.”
“About what?”
“About...what we just shared.”
“Are you sorry?” she asked.
“No. Of course not. But I thought...” He looked at her more closely. She looked...satisfied. Like a kitten that had just lapped the cream off the milk bucket. “You’re not angry that I...took your virtue?”
“You didn’t take it. I gave it. There’s a difference.” She arched herself up to brush her lips over his.
At her incredible gesture of tenderness he felt himself harden once more inside her. “You’ll be a little sore in the morning.”
She ran her hands along his arms and smiled. “A small price to pay for so much pleasure.”
His lips curved. She was flirting. They had just shared the most incredible experience of a lifetime, and she was flirting. He was thoroughly aroused again.
“Think you could stand a little more pleasure?”
“Is it possible?” she asked.
“Um-hmm.” He gathered her close and pressed a kiss to her eyes, her nose, the corner of her mouth.
She turned her face so that their lips mated.
“Do you know how long I’ve been wanting you, Ruby?” he muttered inside her mouth.
She came up for air. “How long?”
He ran a rough fingertip down her spine and watched as she shivered. “Since the first time I laid eyes on you. You rode into town in that red satin gown, stirring up every man from eighteen to eighty.”
“Including you?”
“Including me.” He began to move, and was rewarded by her sudden gasp of pleasure. “And I haven’t been able to stop looking at you since.”
And then he could see nothing but her eyes as they locked on his. And the look of surprise, and then pleasure, as the two of them were lost in a passionate dance as old as time itself.
“I’m sorry Onyx had to die before his time.” Quent’s voice was soft against Ruby’s temple. They lay tangled in the sheets. Sometime during the night he had scooped her up and carried her to her bed. “He was a good friend, and I miss him like hell. But I’m glad something good could come of his death. And I know I’d never have met you if you hadn’t come to Hanging Tree to visit his grave.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry, too. I wanted so desperately to know my father. But I was eager to come here, to see for myself what it was that kept him here. I knew, even before I arrived, that I would never go back.”