The Cowboy Who Strolled Into Town (79 page)

              He moved with a slow, sensual grace that was deadly. No wasted movements, and a patience that made Beatrice shiver again. She had known Sebastian for three years, and he was the other Whitebridge employee, besides Finn, that frequently made appearances in her fantasies.

              Sometimes, when she couldn’t decide who to choose, she imagined what it would be like to have both. She didn’t have to stretch her imagination that far, having had a real-life encounter with just how incredible that could be.

              She burned with a hot blush as the memory came unbidden. The
incident
, as she called it to herself, had happened just over a year ago. She had been working late after a party, finishing up cleaning the big tent after working a twelve hour day understaffed and overrun with drunken fair goers.

              Beatrice had been taking the last of the garbage bags out to the dumpster behind the tent, when she heard a squeal quickly followed by a soft growl and rustling of the underbrush maybe twenty feet away. She cautiously walked to the edge of the small thicket of trees that ran along the backs of the tents, worried that someone might need help. At least, the squeal had sounded human, and distinctly female.

              Just as she was about to open her mouth to ask if anyone needed help, she came upon an opening in the thick brush, the moon like a spotlight as her gaze fell on the scene unfolding in front of her.

              There was in fact a woman, and she looked anything but distressed as she had been surrounded by both Finn and Sebastian. Both men giving her their undivided attention. Beatrice felt frozen, her feet stuck as she voyeuristically watched them, unable to look away.

              Beatrice shook her head, dispelling the arousing image and finding herself staring at the tarp covered boxes, probably drooling like an idiot. She quickly swiped her finger along her lower lip just to make sure.

              “Uh, do you need something?” The soft, deep voice made Beatrice jump, and she flipped around to meet…a chest. A very nice chest, covered now in a loose linen colored shirt with the laces dangling instead of the armored costume she had been admiring him in earlier.

              “Um…Ummmm.” She looked up, past the impressive swell of his shoulders, up the side of his neck, temporarily distracted by a bead of sweat making its way leisurely down a path that she could so easily picture her lips following. She tried to meet his flashing amber eyes, but her heart spiked alarmingly and she settled on his chin. That seemed safe enough to her, trying to battle the blush she knew was even now filling her cheeks with a peachy glow.

              “I am…I’m from the Tavern…I just need…”

              “You’re Beatrice, I know.” She briefly allowed her eyes to travel up just enough to watch the side of his full mouth tip up in a charming grin. “We’ve only worked together for three years.”

              “Right, of course…” She took a breath,
get a grip, Bea!
She felt guilty, like he had somehow read her thoughts and knew exactly what she was thinking. Casting about for some way to salvage her rapidly deteriorating nerves, she spied the wooden boxes still stacked behind her.
Ahah!

              “I was just grabbing some practice shields from these…ahhh! Achoo!” She had grabbed the edge of the canvas, flipping it off the crates and getting a face full of dust as the cover swept out of her grasp and onto the grass at her feet.

              She doubled over as a sudden attack of sneezes swamped her, finally regaining her breath, if not her pride, as the sixth one finished. Or was it seventh. She had lost count as she’d desperately covered her mouth, her eyes watering madly from the onslaught of dust particles.

              “Are you okay?” A warm hand lightly touched the back of her arm. This was just perfect, she thought.

              “Yeah, I think so. Thanks.” She used the corner of the brown skirt of her dress to wipe off some of the moisture that still lingered around her eyes.

              “No problem. Are you sure? I can bring those practice shields by the Tavern, the wooden ones righ…” His voice cut off suddenly as she righted herself, still trying to knock the dust off her costume.

              “What? Oh, okay. Thanks, that would be great.” She finally looked at Sebastian, realizing he still hadn't said anything. She stopped as she noticed his gaze had fixed somewhere below her chin, his amber eyes dilated and they burned with a molten copper that hadn't been there a few moments ago.

              Her stomach dropped, and she dreaded looking down at the spot that had him so suddenly fascinated, fearing the worst. She steeled herself and cast her dark gaze downward, meeting nothing but a large expanse of tanned flesh tipped with rosy nipples, the cords that were supposed to be securing the corset dangling uselessly, the slips of fabric themselves folded and bunched at her waist.

              Her entire body flashed white hot as embarrassment swept over her like an inferno. The stupid thing must have been shaken loose when she was sneezing. She grasped the front panel, trying to pull it up and over her breasts, which was challenging as they were more than a handful.

              Finally giving up, she wrapped both arms around her chest, creating a mound of cleavage but at least she was slightly more covered. She tried to think of something, anything to say to break the tension that was suddenly molasses thick between them, but the expression on his handsome, sharply featured face stalled her.

              His dark brows were now lowered over his eyes, and the skin over his jaw pulled taught by the clenching of his teeth. With a small squeak, and thinking she might just die right then and there from embarrassment, she turned and ran toward the nearest tent, wanting more than anything to be out of his sight. She swore she could still feel his burning gaze like a brand between her shoulder blades as she ducked through the back opening of the tent and disappeared.

              Once in the safety of the dimly lit tent, she could finally release the breath that had turned to fire in her lungs. Of all the things, to happen in front of all the people. She huffed out another breath, this time one of irritation. She was a grown woman, surely she was old enough to be able to deal with this.

              She was always envious of those women who could shake off an uncomfortable situation with a joke and a chuckle. She groaned, how was she going to face Sebastian again. Not only was she absolutely mortified, but the look burning in his golden gaze had been unmistakable. She could easily picture it, his eyes burning with desire. For her!

              She shivered as she remembered them shifting from their normal amber to molten copper, reminding her of what else she had seen in that little patch of forest the year before.

              After finishing with the woman, who had walked away on shaky legs, obviously extremely satisfied, Beatrice had watched them still, too afraid to move and draw attention to herself now that they weren’t so…occupied.

              As devastatingly sensual it had been to watch them both pleasure the woman, what she had seen afterwards had truly taken her breath away. One minute, two men had been there, standing as the cool white light of the moon lovingly traced every muscle, and then…Well, she still wasn't exactly sure what she had seen, but she knew that where there had been two men was now a giant brown bear, that had turned and placidly walked further into the trees before disappearing entirely in the shadows.

              She had been left staring at the most magnificent creature she had ever seen. Its body as large as her car, it glowed a pale pearlescent cream in the dim moonlight, black markings impossible to decipher trailed along its side and up its long, sleek neck tipped with a large, diamond shaped head with glowing green eyes and a black, pointed muzzle.

              A soft scream caught in her throat as she watched it unfold its wings, looking paper thin and incredibly delicate as they slowly, almost silently, unfurled to either side of its lithe body, easily doubling its width before crouching. In one powerful leap, it launched itself up into the warm night air. It too disappeared in the midnight shadows, but the image was burned indelibly onto Beatrice’s mind.

              She had spent a lot of time thinking about that night, as impossible as it was to believe. Had time to grow used to the idea that there was more to the world than she knew, and she held that knowledge close to her heart. It was one of the reasons she continued to work at the fair. Finn and Sebastian had many secrets, but so did Beatrice. In fact, she had theirs.

Chapter 3

              Beatrice cast a quick look around the tent, but it seemed empty. She looked down at her dress and wished she hadn’t. Not only did it remind her of the ridiculous farce with Sebastian a little bit ago, but thanks to her mad dash to the tent, the corset panels were hopelessly tangled, and the cords had knotted together making it impossible for her to untie the thing without taking the costume off altogether.

              Bending down to grab the edge of the dress, she scrunched the fabric up until it reached her waist, shimmying her hips to slide the dress the rest of the way off. Her hands now crossed over head, fabric bunched in each fist, she gave a big tug to get it the rest of the way, but it didn't move.

              “Shit.” Her curse was muffled by the layers of fabric enclosing her as she gave the material another sharp jerk, trying to get it to come loose. she could feel it stuck tight by the extra fabric of the top part of the dress still bunched around her middle. She let go of the fabric to try again, but it stayed wrapped around her arms, trapping her.

              “Shit! Shit! Shit!” She wiggled fiercely, starting to overheat in the warm confines of the dress, her arms still stuck above her head. “Oh my god. I’m trapped.” She continued to move her body like a snake trying to shed it’s skin, almost bending over double when she heard a soft and distinctly masculine cough coming from somewhere to her right. She froze.

              “Hel…helloo?” She tried to ask, but it came out sound more like
whhelphgo?
as she caught a mouthful of fabric. She swore she could hear someone chuckling at her shoulder, and she quickly turned in what she thought was the right direction, spitting out the material.

              “Hey, if someone’s there, can you give me a hand?” She wiggled again, trying to show who she hoped would be a good Samaritan the extent of her plight. “I’m stuck!”

              “I can see that.” Came the smooth reply, laced with a heavy Irish accent that had her toes curling and stomach dropping at the same time.
Oh no.
Not
him.
Before Beatrice had a chance to say anything else a strong pair of big, very warm, masculine hands were on her hips, instantly stopping her jerky movements as she sucked in a sharp breath.

              The hands, their touch somehow magnified by her accidental blindfold, dragged slowly across her exposed skin, stopping at the edge of the fabric now caught around her ribs, just under breasts.

              His long fingers worked under the fabric until he could grasp the extra material of the corset and pull it loose. The moment stretched out, feeling like an eternity to Beatrice as she held her breath, staying as still as she could when all her body wanted to do was curl into the warm hands that moved torturously slow against her skin.

              Finally, he tugged the last panel free and the rest of the skirt came off with surprising alacrity. Beatrice pulled the fabric in front of her now completely bare upper body, thankful for the sheer, lacy petticoats that kept her at least somewhat covered on the bottom.

              Words were beyond her as she met Finn’s shining emerald eyes, dancing with laughter, her own filled with mortification she was sure. She knew she should thank him. She should thank him, and then ask him to leave so she could get dressed and get back to the Tavern, where she was sure Big John, the owner, was going crazy that she wasn’t back yet. She opened her mouth to do just that, but Finn swept forward, laying a large hand on each still bare shoulder and gently turned her around until he was at her back.

              “Here, let me.” He pulled the dress from her suddenly numb fingers. Beatrice covered her curves reflexively with her arms as he found the bottom of the dress and slipped it over her befuddled head. The fabric fell smoothly, no longer tangled, although the panels that laced up to form the top part of the dress still hung limply to the sides. As Finn continued to tug the dress down over her swell of her hips, she looked up just as the front flap of the tent rustled.

              “Hey Finn, I just had the most incredib…” Sebastian’s words trailed off as his eyes widened on Beatrice, her arms still draped over her chest in a parody of modesty as Finn detangled the hopelessly knotted cords needed to secure the top. He took a few cautious steps closer before letting the flap close, plunging the tent once more into dimness.

              Beatrice felt frozen as Sebastian neared, taking in the situation at a glance and grabbing the other end of the cord that needed to be unknotted.
Do I just stand here?
Both men acted completely nonchalant as Finn, still at her back, reached around her waist to grab the front panel of fabric, slowly smoothing up her front, and then holding it in place, his hand like a brand on her chest, even with the layer of material in between his skin and hers. Sebastian, now holding the length of tangle-free cord, used his free hand to cross the laces through the holes on the edges of both side panels. Every time he would move from one to the other, his knuckles would brush fire over her middle.

              She held her breath, looking from Finn to Sebastian, and back again, but neither men seemed concerned. Both were totally focused on the task at hand, looking more at the costume then at her.

             
Sebastian, his brows furrowed in concentration, laced the cord through the last loop, allowing Finn to pull up on the side pieces before gently tightening the fabric over her chest. As it grew taught, Finn’s fingers trailed softly down her sides, coming to rest at the flair of her hips.

              Beatrice could almost feel the front of his body against hers, and she desperately wanted to lean back until they were flush. But the weight of his fingers kept her standing, frozen.

              A final bow at the top finished the costume, and she looked down, sighing at the amount of cleavage that still swelled above the too small dress. But at least she was descent again. Well, sort of. Well, not if you counted the thoughts that were swimming dizzily around her head as she stood firmly between the two men, her small but curvy body dwarfed by them.

              She was mesmerized by the sight of Sebastian’s tan hands, still hovering at the top edge of the dress, then dipping a large finger under the edge and sliding it back and forth just a breath away from touching her hardening nipple. She couldn’t hold back the sigh of disappointment as he slowly moved his hand down until it rested innocently on either side of her stomach just above Finn’s. Almost innocently.

              “Beatrice,” his hushed rumble startled her after the heavy silence of the past few minutes. “Beatrice.” His words, and the finger at her chin, asked her to look up at him, but she responded to edge of command in the soft whisper. She made herself meet his eyes, glowing golden in the dim light.

              “We want you.” She sucked in a breath at the sudden, stripped desire she saw burning in his expression as much as his abrupt confession. A burst of tingles erupted at her back as she felt more than heard Finn’s whispered words at her ear. “Do you want us?”

              Her eyes drifted close of their own accord.
Do I want them?
It was such a simple question, but she couldn’t force out an answer, sudden doubts swirling through her thoughts.
Oh my god, the Tavern!

              Her eyes shot open as reality crashed back, moving her feet away from the all-too-tempting men still watching her, the demand for an answer swirling in their eyes, but she was relieved when they took a step back, willing to give her time to collect her thoughts.

              “I…ah, I have to get back.” She whispered the excuse hoarsely, knowing she was just looking for a way to stall them. “I’ll, um, I’ll see you both…see you!” She turned and dashed through the entrance and into the bright afternoon sun, feeling like she had just woken up from a dream, and desperately wanting to go back.

              She took a deep breath, her pulse still pounding like mad in her ears as she headed toward the Tavern, thoughts of Finn and Sebastian, her desire for them, and her own self-doubts warring amongst themselves as she tried to focus on getting through the rest of her shift. The next eight hours were going to be hard.