Her hands ran along the edge of the stewpot and then slowly eased it forward. Pulling in a deep breath, she parted her lips for a moment before saying, “You can take this back now.”
Clint walked forward and kept his eyes fixed on her. Part of him was waiting for her to make a move against him, but another part simply couldn't look away. “You want something to dry off?”
She shook her head. As Clint took the stewpot away, she asked, “Aren't you going to search me again?”
“Maybe later.”
“I don't think I can wait any longer.”
Clint was putting the stewpot away and had his back to her. He could feel his body reacting to the sultry tone in her voice. That, combined with the sight of her in those dripping wet clothes, made it difficult for him to keep his mind on track. Thinking about what could happen if he took a misstep was enough to get him more or less where he needed to be.
Turning around, Clint said, “I know what you're trying to do. I'm not an idiot.”
“I told you before that I'm not a killer. Tell me one lie you caught me in and I'll understand why you think I'd hurt you.”
“Lying isn't a part of it. You riding with an assassin is more than enough for me to be wary of you.”
“I'm not the one who wanted to kill you. Besides,” she said as she stood up and peeled off her jeans, “you can see for yourself I'm unarmed.”
Clint was able to keep his expression neutral as Rosa kicked off her wet jeans so they landed next to her boots. That only left her button-up shirt, which was just large enough to cover her. No matter how well he maintained his composure, Rosa kept right on pushing him to his limit.
She kept her eyes on Clint while opening her shirt one button at a time. Once all the buttons were undone, she held open the shirt as if she were holding open a jacket to show she wasn't heeled. “See?” she said while doing a slow turn. “You've got nothing to worry about.”
Having already looked at her closely to see if she posed a threat, Clint now looked at her just to let his eyes soak in the sight of her. Beads of water ran down her light brown skin. Her body moved sensually even when she was lowering herself to the ground and sitting with her legs slightly parted.
“Franco only slept with me because he said it made his eyes sharper,” she told him. “I want you to make love to me as a man should make love to a woman. It may be a long time before I feel such a thing again.”
Clint knew he should turn his back to her and walk over to his own bedroll. But the longer he thought about how much he shouldn't go to her, the more he wanted to.
“Aw hell,” Clint muttered as he unbuckled his holster and tossed it to where Eclipse was standing.
TWENTY-ONE
By the time Clint stepped within Rosa's reach, he was only wearing his boots and jeans. Everything else had been tossed into a pile behind him. Rosa was once again on her knees, waiting for him. Her eyes were wide as if she couldn't believe he was actually coming to her. She breathed in quick, expectant gasps.
Rosa's legs had been untied so she could move around a bit, but her wrists were still bound together and a rope attached them to a nearby tree. She'd gotten better at moving around the ropes and didn't even seem to notice them until she reached out to pull on Clint's belt.
“I'm not untying you,” he said.
“Just come a little closer,” she replied breathlessly.
Clint stood his ground and said, “Lay down.”
She seemed surprised at first, but in a way that only fed the excitement burning in her eyes. Quickly, Rosa did as she was told by getting onto all fours and then rolling onto her back. When she looked up for Clint, she found him already coming down to her. Rosa sat up and spread her legs open wide.
The moment Rosa reached out to touch his face, Clint's first instinct was to grab hold of her wrists so she couldn't do any damage. Rosa reacted with a quick intake of breath. Her eyes got an even hungrier look in them, and her nipples became hard beneath the wet cotton shirt.
Clint had reacted so quickly that he didn't have a chance to think. Now that he had ahold of the ropes tying her wrists together, he tightened his grip and slid his other hand under her shirt. Rosa reacted immediately by arching her back and leaning her head back as Clint's hand explored her breasts.
Rosa's body was soft and tense at the same time. Her skin was smooth, but her muscles quivered beneath his hand. Once he cupped her breast and massaged it, Clint could feel her relaxing and letting out a slow breath.
Holding her arms up a bit, Clint leaned forward to run his tongue between her breasts while teasing her nipple with his thumb. Rosa didn't put up one bit of struggle. In fact, she wriggled and squirmed as a way to guide his lips to where she wanted them to go.
Once Clint started nibbling at a spot on her neck, she pressed herself against him and urgently whispered, “Right there. Oh my God, that's so good.”
Even though Clint had ahold of her wrists, he quickly realized that she had ahold of him in another way. Rosa's legs wrapped around his waist, drawing him in closer until she was grinding herself against his rigid cock.
Clint looked down to watch the way she moved. By the time he slowly ran his hand along the side of her body, she'd positioned herself so the tip of his penis was nestled between the lips of her pussy. Her eyes were closed and her hair was tossed behind her as she began thrusting her hips forward until he was finally inside of her.
After allowing her to slide her wet lips along the length of his cock a few times, Clint leaned forward and pushed her onto the ground. Rosa landed solidly and snapped her eyes open. Her smile was wider than ever, and her mouth hung open as if she was about to say something. Those words didn't come out before she felt him straighten out her arms over her head by tugging the rope a little tighter.
“Oh . . . oh, yes!” she moaned. As Clint slid all the way inside of her, she arched her back and repeated herself again and again.
One of Rosa's legs was looped around him and the other was braced against the ground. The cotton shirt lay open beneath her, making the color of her skin stand out like she was laying on a bed of spilled cream.
Even though she appeared to struggle against his hold on the ropes, Rosa never made a serious attempt to break Clint's grip. As he pumped his hips between her legs, Clint was still waiting for her to try to take advantage of a moment or gain an upper hand. Just then, however, Rosa was more than content to let him be in control.
Soon, Rosa did make a move that Clint wasn't expecting. It wasn't exactly an unwelcome one, either.
The first thing Clint felt was her pulling against the ropes binding her wrists. Clint's free hand had reached around to cup her buttocks and lift her up a bit as he thrust forward. When he felt her struggling, Clint stopped and looked to see what she had in mind.
Rosa's breaths were coming in loud gasps. She looked at him and winked while wriggling on the ground to give herself some slack in the ropes. Clint allowed her to go, just to see what she was up to. Before long, Rosa was able to bend her elbows and sit upright.
“What are you doing?” Clint asked.
She kept scooting toward the tree and then got onto all fours so she could crawl to it. “I just want a little more rope to work with,” she said.
Although Clint was wary of her intentions, he enjoyed watching her crawl toward the tree where the rope was tied. Her legs dragged through the grass and her backside twitched slowly back and forth. Following her, Clint stopped before she could get close enough to the tree to grab a low-hanging branch. He no longer held her by the wrists, but he kept hold of the rope.
“That's far enough,” he warned. “Maybe this isn't such a good . . .”
His words trailed off as Clint saw Rosa lean forward and dig her fingers into the ground like a cat stretching its back. Her backside was raised even higher and she looked over her shoulder with lust smoldering in her eyes.
“This is just right,” she said. “Come and see for yourself.”
Clint settled in behind her and rubbed his free hand along the curve of her buttocks. After wrapping the rope around his other hand, he had just enough slack to drape the rope over her back while she kept her hands pressed flat against the ground in front of her. The tree wasn't far in front, but there was nothing for her to reach and no branch anywhere close to Rosa's grasp.
When Clint brushed the rope against her back, Rosa flinched and let out a slow moan. He rubbed her backside, savoring the way her tight muscles and smooth skin felt under his hand. He even gave her a little slap on the hip, which caused Rosa to moan louder and lift her backside higher.
By now, Clint was so hard that he would start to ache if he didn't get inside of her. He guided his cock to her waiting pussy and pushed his hips forward. She was so wet that he glided in easily. Her moist lips wrapped around him and even tightened a bit as he lingered inside of her.
“Don't make me wait for it,” she moaned. “Please.”
Clint tugged on the rope as he eased out and thrust his hips forward. This time, he didn't hesitate or prolong the moment in the least. He pumped into her again and again until she was gritting her teeth and groaning as an orgasm pulsed through her body.
Clint could feel her climaxing as her muscles twitched and she rocked against him with every thrust. Soon, Rosa brought her head up and flung her hair along her back as she gazed up at the darkening sky. She bit down on her lower lip and trembled as one orgasm fed into another.
As his own climax approached, Clint almost let the rope slip from his hand. Not only did Rosa not try to use that momentary weakness against him, but she didn't even seem to notice it. She was too busy reeling with the intense pleasure she was feeling, and Clint was about to join her.
A few more powerful thrusts and Clint exploded inside of her. By the time he was finished, Rosa's legs were almost too weak to support her own weight.
Reluctantly, Clint got up. “I . . . still can't untie you,” he said.
It took a few seconds for her to catch her breath. When she did, Rosa replied, “After this . . . I actually don't mind these ropes anymore.”
TWENTY-TWO
Tom Clark was a barrel-chested man with a grizzled face and stubbly, gray hair. His fingers were like thick sausages, and when he took hold of the reins to Rosa's horse, he clamped around the leather straps like a vise.
“This little lady did all that?” Tom asked after Clint was finished explaining why he was handing Rosa into his custody.
“She was the lookout for Franco Dominguez when he intended on picking off me and my friend in Dover Shallows,” Clint explained. “I'm pretty sure she was there when we got ambushed, but I didn't see her fire a shot.”
“Just acting as a lookout again, huh?”
“That's my guess.”
Tom looked up to Rosa with calculating eyes. Although he took a second to appreciate her figure, he didn't let his eyes linger on her for too long. “Pretty ones like this tend to favor the troublemakers,” Tom muttered. “They also tend to think their pretty faces will get 'em out of whatever trouble they get into.”
“That's why I handed her over to you, Tom. Only a happily married man like yourself could resist such feminine wiles.”
Tom looked over to Clint's smirking face and let out a choppy laugh. “Shit, you're just saying that because you met my wife. You know damn well she'd skin me alive if she thought I laid a finger on a young little thing like this one.”
“There's that, too.”
“I've got some men riding not too far from Dover Shallows. I can send word to them and have them check in with the local law over there. If need be, can I count on you to testify to what you saw?”
“Sure,” Clint replied with a nod. “If I'm not here, you can send a telegram to Rick Hartman. You remember him?”
“It'd be hard to forget Rick's Place! I had some of the best meatloaf in my life over there!”
“I'll be sure to let Mrs. Clark know about that.”
Clearing his throat and shifting on his feet, Tom said, “When'd you say you were leaving Carson City?”
“Just as soon as you buy me a beer. I tend to lose track of what I was going to say after I've had one or two.”
“Then I'll buy you three! As far as you know, my wife's cookin' is the best there is!”
Clint laughed as he watched a younger marshal lead Rosa away. She sat warily in the saddle, but that was mostly because she hadn't been able to shift to a better position throughout the entire ride. Even so, she managed to smile back at him.
“She give you any trouble?” Tom asked once her horse had been led far enough away so she couldn't overhear them.
“Actually, no.”
“You seem surprised by that.”
Clint let out a sigh and nodded slowly. “I am. Both the times my friend and I crossed that assassin's path, she wasn't anywhere to be found. I'm pretty sure I spotted her at that first ambush, but that was at a distance.”
“The lookout,” Tom said. “You mentioned that.”
“Still, she admitted to as much when I asked her about it, and she was more than willing to answer my questions about who put Dominguez on our tails.”
“Care to share that information?”
“I was going to follow up on that myself.”
“I trust you to keep it legal, Clint. Far as I'm concerned, you're justified to pay this asshole a visit without crossing the line.”
“I think I can manage that,” Clint said.