The Gunslinger’s Untamed Bride (20 page)

Understanding her initial unease last night when he’d first touched her brought a rush of new concern. Juniper sat up, his arm curving around her slender waist. Her mouth set in an unhappy curve, she didn’t look up at him.

“Was he rough with you?”

She fiddled with a button on his shirt. “Not exactly. I was hardly his first deflowering, and he seemed determined to…well, he didn’t want it to be painful.” She glanced up at him from beneath thick amber eyelashes. “
It didn’t work.
I was woefully naive and I didn’t like him touching me. I just wanted it over with.”

“Why the rush to be rid of your virginity?”

“My relatives were determined to marry me off. They wanted access to my inheritance by arranging a
suitable
husband, meaning a man they could control. I wasn’t having any part of it. Nor had I expected…sex,” she whispered, “to be so painful. The moment I was breached I assumed the deed was done and pulled away.”

“Before he, uh…”

“That wasn’t the worst of it. We were in his carriage, having left in the midst of an opera. I wanted to be seen with him, so that my aunt wouldn’t doubt my claims of indecency, which turned out to be an unjust concern. No one in San Francisco could doubt the indecency of our brief affair.”

“Why’s that?”

Regret became a lump in her throat, stalling her voice. “In my haste to get away from him, I fell out of the carriage, tumbling to the ground in an open ball gown. Edmond landed on his knees in the doorway in an attempt to catch me. His trousers in a heap, the solid proof of what we’d been doing stood out clearly in the lamplight, there for all to see. The opera having just let out, there were plenty of onlookers.” She leaned forward, pressing her warm face against his chest. “Startled shrieks could be heard for miles.”

“Ah, Lily,” Juniper said, his hand gently stroking her hair.

“
It was dreadful.
I wanted so badly for the ground to just open up and swallow me.”

“All that to avoid courtship?”

“I hadn’t intended on such public humiliation.” She sat back, curious about his reaction. Though Juniper had the good grace not to laugh at her misfortune, she saw a touch of amusement in his eyes, which added to her embarrassment. “Good grief, why am I even telling you all this?”

“Perhaps you fear another embarrassing scandal?”

I should.
Somewhere deep in her mind, she knew she’d spent the night with a man she’d hated for most of her life, whom only days ago she had intended to kill. All those thoughts faded as her gaze slid across his muscular form.
Scandalous.

Her lips slid upward in a crooked grin. “You’d be worth the scandal.”

Juniper groaned against a hard surge of desire. Her arms curved around his neck, his shirt dropping away as she leaned up and he met her kiss. If they didn’t get some clothes and distance between them quickly, he wouldn’t be able to think about anything beyond recapturing the intense passion they’d shared.

He broke the kiss and glanced around, nothing short of desperate to find her nightgown. Spotting the discarded item near their feet, he snatched it up, saying, “I doubt you’ll feel that way if we get caught in this barn together.” He shook out the white fabric and proffered it to her.

“You sure you’re not just in a hurry to be rid of me?”

Her lower lip protruded in the slightest, prettiest pout he’d ever seen.

“I’d love nothing more than to hold you right now and repeat ‘the rest.’” He stood, revealing just how ready he was to ravish her once again. Her mischievous grin wasn’t helping him to do the right thing. “But I wasn’t joking about getting caught. Work starts early around here.”

Gathering up the bottom of her gown, he held it up to drape over her. “Com’ere.”

She stood and he pulled the long nightdress into place. She slid her arms through the long sleeves, smiling up at him. “You’re very sweet.”

“So are you,” he said, brushing a light kiss across her lips.

“No,” she said, a touch of sadness in her tone. “I’m not.”

“You are to me,” he said, handing her the matching wrapper.

Staring into his sober blue eyes, Lily actually believed him. She smiled and he turned away. She pulled on the thin robe and tied the sash as she watched him dress with brazen appreciation; his long, masculine legs stepping into his Levi’s, the soft, worn denim sliding over the tight curve of his backside, lean hips and the rest of his masculinity, which presently didn’t fit into his pants quite so easily.

I’ve truly lost my mind.
She’d just spent the night with Juniper Barns…and she couldn’t feel even slightly abashed.

Who knew
crazy
felt this good?

Juniper stepped into his boots, saying, “Let’s get you back to your room before the house wakens.” His arm slid around her shoulders as he guided her from the stall.

Liking the weight of his arm across her shoulders, Lily reached up, taking his hand, holding his arm in place as her other arm moved around his waist. She’d never felt this type of security or ease with anyone. She wondered if he felt the same about her. He smiled down at her as they walked into the moonlit yard, and she was struck by the notion that she’d likely have followed him anywhere. It was a rather pleasant feeling.

What am I doing?
She didn’t have the faintest notion. As they neared the house, reality began to take hold, her practical mind intruding on a wonderful moment with the man who’d shattered her world twice over, and yet had somehow helped her collect all the broken pieces. Where did that leave her?

He stopped at the base of the porch, his touch falling away from her. The warmth of his side was quickly replaced by cold early-morning air. He stepped back as Lily started up the porch stairs. She stopped on the second step and turned to look back at him. Standing at eye level, she held his gaze for a long moment.

She had no experience with this sort of thing. “Juniper…I don’t know what to say.”

Her admission sent a pang of regret into Juniper’s heart. She wasn’t a woman of loose morals, and he’d had no right to lie down with her when he couldn’t give her promises of love and marriage.
Hell.
A real gentleman gave the promises and the ring first. Though she didn’t seem to expect it, she deserved better. Better than he could offer her.

“How about good night?” he suggested.

She flashed a shaky smile. “Good night, then.”

He advanced a step and watched her gaze soften as she realized his intent to kiss her. She leaned into him, her hands touching his chest as he brushed his lips softly over hers. When she eased back, her brilliant smile was another blow. He was sure he’d never known such beauty. The way she looked at him, her eyes bright with affection, it made him ache all over. He wanted to pull her back into his arms and promise all the things he could never give her.

“Good night, Lily.”

Taking a step back, he turned away and strode back to the barn while he still had enough sense to do so. He shouldn’t have allowed things to go as far as they had, yet he couldn’t bring himself to truly regret his actions. He’d die remembering her emerald eyes dark with desire, his name on her lips as passion claimed her.

She knew as well as he that the past few hours didn’t change anything. Come sunrise they’d both have their jobs to do, and he…
Hell.

I can’t be sweet on Lily Palmer.

L
eaving Jed and his son to their chores in the barn, Juniper entered the house shortly after sunrise, hoping to find a pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen. The chattering voices of his sisters told him he was in luck. He stopped in the dining room doorway, stunned to find Lily standing between his sisters at the small kitchen table, beautiful as ever with her hair up in one of her twisty hairdos, a dish towel tied around her tiny waist. His body warmed at the memory of holding that little waist in his palms.

He wouldn’t have blamed her for sleeping in. Yet there she stood, in her clean and mended green dress, an expression of complete perplexity on her sweet face as she stared down at the can opener she hadn’t quite fastened on a can of peaches.

Juniper leaned a shoulder against the door frame, fully enjoying the view of his high-powered boss fiddling with the simple contraption.

“Like this?” she said to April.

His youngest sister gaped at her. “You’ve never used a can opener?”

“April,” said Rachell, her back to the room as she tended the bacon she had sizzling on the stove. “Not all young ladies are schooled in the kitchen. I could hardly boil water when I met your father.”

April and May grinned at each other, neither believing a truth Juniper had witnessed firsthand, having suffered through Rachell’s earliest attempts at cooking.

“You do it like this,” May said, clamping the opener down on the can and giving the handle a single turn.

“Oh. Thank you.” Lily took over the task. “I used to help my mother in the kitchen when I was real young. Small tasks like rolling out piecrusts and such. I swear I’d milk a cow right now for some hot chocolate.”

The girls giggled and Juniper’s smile broadened.

“Once I get home I’m sending you a silver chocolate pot and some of my finest chocolate.”

“Will you really?” asked April.

“That’s not necessary,” said Rachell.

“It’s basic survival,” Lily insisted, her gaze on the bowl she was filling with fruit.

“June!” April spotted him in the doorway.

Lily glanced up.

“Good morning,” he said to everyone, and stepped into the room. “Thought I’d see if you needed any cans opened.”

“Very funny,” Lily said, her eyes narrowing in mock anger.

“There’s coffee here on the stove.” Rachell smiled over her shoulder at him.

“I’ll get a cup for you,” offered May.

“Everything go okay?” Rachell asked.

“Real well,” he said. “The Grove office is up and running again, which should settle tempers all over the mountain.”

He accepted a cup of coffee from May. “Thank you.”

“I hope you’re staying home a little longer this time,” April said, moving up beside him.

“I wish I could, sweetpea.” He gave one of her auburn braids a gentle tug. “The Carringtons need to get back up to Pine Ridge and it’s my job to make sure they get there safely. We’ll need to head out right after breakfast. Once I get the camp settled, I’ll come home for a visit.”

“Promise?” she asked, slumping into a kitchen chair.

“Promise,” he agreed before allowing his gaze to settle on Lily. She watched him with a fair amount of caution in her gaze.

“How are you this morning, Lily?”

“Quite well, thank you,” she said, a smile seeping across her lips. “And you, Sheriff Barns?”

“Mighty fine,” he said, returning her smile. He wanted to comment on how alluring she looked in the morning light. The flush rising into her cheeks suggested she’d already noted his appreciation.

“I see our dashing lawman has returned.”

Lily jumped at the sound of Regi’s bright voice. Her cousin looked from her to Juniper and back again, a single dark eyebrow arched in surprise and silent speculation.

Realizing Regi wasn’t the only one staring at her and Juniper with curiosity bright in his gaze, she snatched up her bowl of peaches and turned toward the counter, away from her cousin and Juniper’s sisters.

“Hey, Reg,” Juniper said. “Can you give me a hand with the horses?”

“Certainly.”

“Get some coffee. I’ll meet you out there.”

Lily listened to the sound of the back door closing behind Juniper and released a silent sigh of relief.
Good gracious.
The man could make her heart pound clean out of her chest with a simple smile.

An hour later, Lily sat at the dining table across from Juniper once again. This time, however, she found it to be a rather pleasing experience. She felt very much a part of the warmth in the room, especially when Juniper’s gaze was upon her. She had to struggle to contain the swirls of heat.

When they all stood in the yard, saying their goodbyes, she found she was truly going to miss this family.

“Spill it.”

Reginald nearly pounced on her the moment Juniper led the horses off to a meadow for the evening.

Lily straightened away from the fire and took a step back on a bed of pine needles. “What are you talking about?”

“You and your sheriff,” he said with exasperation. “What’s happened?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, hoping her cheeks didn’t look as flushed as they felt. “He recovered the payroll. You were there when he explained everything over breakfast. The payroll, his reasons for taking this long route through the higher elevations.”

Reginald arched an eyebrow. “That doesn’t explain the glow in your cheeks or the secret smiles you two have been exchanging all day.”

Oh, dear. Had she really been so transparent?

“We talked,” she said.

“Talked?”

“Yes. I believe we’ve come to an understanding.”

“Which is?”

Good grief.
She wasn’t really certain. “That he’s the sheriff and we need his help to settle our troubles at Pine Ridge. The men trust him and so far he’s accomplished all he said he would.”

“You like him,” Regi accused.

“What?”

Regi grinned. “Oh, Lily. Your eyes brighten like electric light-bulbs every time he smiles at you.”

“So, I like him,” she conceded. “So what?”

Regi’s grin broadened. “I knew it. Something’s happened.”

“I hardly think our becoming agreeable with each other—”

“I’m going to head to the river,” Juniper said, striding back into camp. “I’ll bring back some trout.”

“Can I come along?” Lily asked. Seeing Regi’s gaze whip toward her, she added, “I’d like to wash up a bit.”

“Sure. Reg, once that flame takes, feed another log into the fire.”

“You’re not going far, are you?”

“Not far,” Juniper assured him. “Rifle’s behind you, beside my saddle.”

Lily fell into step beside him as they walked through a forest of giant redwoods.

“You look petty clean to me,” he whispered after they’d walked a ways.

She watched the river come into view and smiled. She wasn’t about to admit she merely wanted some time alone with him. “I’m curious to see how you catch fish without a pole.”

He jumped down to a lower embankment and turned, lifting her with easy strength. He set her on rocky ground leading to the swift-moving river.

“I’d be glad to show you how,” he said.

“Really?”

“Sure.” He sat on a boulder near the river’s edge and began to remove his boots. She recalled he had come back that first evening with his feet bare, his pants rolled up.

“Are you going into the river?”

“It’s the best way to find a prime fishing hole. You may want to take off your skirts if you’re coming along.”

Take off…
her skirts?

He looked up from his rolled pant legs and laughed. “It’s not a ploy to get you undressed, Lily. Not that it would matter,” he added in a low, alluring tone. “I’ve been picturing you wearing nothing but straw in your hair all day.”

“Juniper!”

He laughed again, loving the flush in her cheeks. “You’re wearing some sort of bloomers or pantaloons under all those skirts, aren’t you?”

“I certainly am!”

His shrugged his shoulders. “You can wait here if you’d rather.” He stepped out onto a rock amid the swirling current and glanced in both directions of the river. He likely could find a fishing spot from the shore, but that wasn’t his way. He enjoyed trekking through the cool water, navigating over the wide-spaced boulders, surrounded by the hush of the river, the scent of the pines—it soothed him.

The best thing to come out of working for McFarland was having been able to talk the man into selling him this patch of land. McFarland had needed money, and Juniper loved the serenity of these woods, the river—though he often wondered why he’d pushed McFarland to sell the parcel. He’d had money in the bank…and no hope of settling down anytime soon. Still, it felt good to have something, a place to go, even if it was nothing more than ground to camp on.

Deciding it would be easiest for Lily to walk downstream than upstream, he glanced back at her. She stared at him, her arms crossed over her chest, reluctance clear in her green eyes.

“You’ll be missing out,” he said.

The challenge in his slanted grin had Lily reaching for the tie of her skirt. Telling herself she was positively certifiable, she pushed down her skirt and petticoats and stepped over them. After tossing aside her shoes and stockings, she stepped lightly over rocks and gravel.

Juniper stood a few feet out on a flat boulder. He held his hand out to her as she reached the edge of the stream. “The rocks can be slick.”

Lily gripped his fingers just as her toes met the gentle rush of water. A chill jolted through her, stealing her breath.

“It’s cold at first,” he warned, a moment too late.

“It’s
freezing!
” she said, quickly stepping up beside him.

“After a few minutes you’ll hardly notice the cold.”

“Because our feet will be blocks of ice?”

He only chuckled and stepped onto the next tall stone, keeping her beside him. “After a long day of riding, a walk through the stream is rather soothing, especially since our shooting incident.”

Lily glanced down but he’d stepped into the glistening ripple of the river. She shivered at the thought of following him into the cold current.

“I’m teasing,” he said. He swung her over to the next large boulder. “My foot is healing just fine.” He stepped up and she saw that indeed the pink gash was healing nicely.

“I truly didn’t mean to shoot you.”

“I know. I didn’t mean to scare you into shooting me.” They stepped over a few more large stones. “Time to get your feet wet, darlin’.”

With that, he tugged her after him into the freezing-cold river water. Lily sucked in a gasp. Just as he’d said, the chill quickly wore off as they walked along through the shallow current toward another patch of rocks where water swirled around them so tightly she wondered how any fish could make it down the river at all. “I thought you were going to fish.”

“We are. First we have to find a gentle pool.”

“Are you sure there’s anything deep enough in this river?”

He smiled down at her. “There’s plenty of pools along this river we can dunk into.”

“Dunk? I can assure you I will not be dunking for our supper.”

His laughter sent tendrils of pleasure twisting through her. The soft light of a setting sun gilded the thick golden waves of his hair as he smiled down at her.
Good gracious, he’s handsome.
When he smiled at her like that, she doubted she could refuse him anything, even diving for their meal.

“Is that what you think I have in mind?” he asked.

“I haven’t the faintest notion. This is my first time wading for fish.”

He laughed again, the warm, throaty sound moving through her like a sensual caress. His thumb brushed over the top of her hand, and Lily found herself very happy to be walking through the river with him, wearing only her waistcoat and bloomers.

“This is the spot,” he said as they reached a bend in the river. The narrow, rocky channel opened into a smooth, wide surface of gently moving water. Thick green bushes grew out into the river from steep embankments on each side.

He led her up to a high grassy embankment overlooking a deep section of the river shaded by thick brush growing out on either side, creating a small cove. Lily sat on her knees beside him and peered over the edge at the water nearly three feet below. Juniper opened a small leather pouch behind the scabbard holding his knife. He pulled out a small bundle of carefully wrapped line attached to something black and fuzzy. Looking closer at the long fibers, she spotted a barbed point curving out the bottom.

“A hook!”

“I don’t travel without a fishing line,” he said, wrapping the length of line around his left hand and letting out some slack between the hook in his right.

“Resourceful,” she said, truly amazed.

“Glad you noticed.”

He leaned over the edge of the embankment, his gaze on the water. “I prefer using a pole, but that’s not always an option.” He eased closer to her, and the heat of his body warmed her side. A swathe of wavy golden hair hung lazily over his brow, just above those amazing pale blue eyes. He tilted his head slightly, and the day’s worth of stubble coating his jaw captured the evening light and glistened like clear grains of brown sugar. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of nibbling on that sharp jawline and his full lips.

“Watch,” he whispered.

Lily couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried. Not that Juniper noticed; his whole focus centered on catching their supper. Glancing out at the water, she watched as his fuzzy hook seemed to hop across the shiny surface like a pesky insect. Sure enough, a fish emerged from the brush and shadows, its mouth opening wide as it swam up. Juniper gave a sharp tug and hauled up a wiggling trout. A few deft movements and he was setting the fish aside and held the line out to her.

“Your turn.”

Lily leaned back. She hadn’t actually been watching his fishing technique. She’d been far too distracted by the smooth lines of his tan face. “Not me,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll snag your line.”

“I have a spare.”

He slid a coil of line over the fingers of her left hand and set the end with the hook in her right. “Let out some slack and give it a toss.”