Cowboy 12 Pack Page 23
“I promise.”
But she knew she would, especially if it meant saving someone or something she cared about. Jake should know that about her by now. Her answer seemed to be enough for him, though.
“Just so you know. If you didn’t have the undying loyalty of every man who worked for you before today, you do now.” His mouth curved. “That includes me.”
Her breath hitched. Sadie wasn’t sure how such simple words could make her feel so happy, but Jake’s respect meant more to her than she could have ever imagined. If she only had his love to go with it, things would be perfect.
*
JAKE PUSHED THEM hard the next three days. Since they’d sent Jessie and Bert back with Elmer and his wagon, along with Clancy for protection, they were shorthanded, which meant extra work for the rest of them. Sadie noticed that no one minded. On the contrary, everyone seemed to have a renewed sense of purpose. Boone had taken his best shot at them and failed. Yes, Elmer, Jessie and Bert had been injured, but they’d recovered. And yes, some of the longhorns had gotten killed in the stampede, but they’d rounded up the rest and gotten them back on the trail. That was a victory in the men’s’ book, and hers. There was no slowing down or giving up now. It was their turn to stick it up the baron backside and give it a good twist. That meant getting to Cheyenne.
When they drove the herd into town on the afternoon of the fourth day, Sadie was dead tired, but she quickly forgot about all the hard work and lack of sleep when she saw how many people were there for the sole purpose of buying her cattle. As she rode alongside Jake, it occurred to her that the men lining the streets seemed more interested in her than the herd. They regarded her with shock and more than a little awe.
Jake’s mouth quirked. “Guess they’re not used to seeing a woman on a cattle drive.”
Apparently, they weren’t used to purchasing cattle from one, either. The second the longhorns were in the pens, the men approached her to dicker about the price. They obviously thought she’d be a pushover because she was the fairer sex. But when they tried to buy her beef on the cheap, she held to her guns. It didn’t hurt to have a man of Jake’s reputation at her side. As soon as the men got whiff of who he was, they quickly changed their tunes. By the time evening rolled around, she’s sold all three thousand head for a price she was pleased with—and one her father would have approved of.
Since it was after dark by the time they got the paperwork done, Jake suggested they stay in town for the night. Sadie eagerly agreed. Not only was everyone exhausted, but she didn’t like the idea of carrying a full moneybag in the dead of night. Besides, it would finally give her and Jake a chance to be alone.
The only place with readily available rooms was the saloon. It noisy, but no one cared, least of all Sadie. She was too eager to have Jake all to herself. Despite Elmer’s insistence that everyone knew about their relationship, she didn’t want to be blatant about it, so she sat through dinner as patiently as she could, then announced she was going to retire for the evening.
She let her gaze linger on Jake. Will you join me?
His mouth curved ever so slightly. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.
Sadie knew Jake had to wait a decent amount of time before he followed, but that didn’t keep her from being impatient. When he finally knocked on her door, she practically ran across the room to open it. Without a word, Jake walked in and closed it behind him, then pulled her in his arms and covered her mouth with his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, her entire body trembling with need. It felt like forever since they’d made love.
She sighed against his mouth. “I thought you were never going to come upstairs.”
Jake tore his mouth away to kiss his way down her neck to the curve of her shoulder, his fingers unbuttoning her shirt as he went. “I would have followed right away, but I didn’t want to make the men suspicious. Longest five minutes of my life.”
She caught her breath as his tossed her shirt and corset on the floor and cupped her bare breasts. “Mine, too.”
He kissed her again, his lips hot and demanding, and Sadie parted her lips with a moan as he undid her braid and buried his fingers in her hair. He tilted her head back, plunging his tongue into her mouth to claim hers.
Still kissing her, Jake ran his hands down her midriff to the waistband of her denims. Making quick work of the buckle and fastening, he slowly pushed them down her legs before doing the same to her pantalets. She thought he might leave them banded around her ankles like he’d done that day in the woods outside her ranch, but instead he dropped down in front of her and took of her boots, then helped her step out of her clothes. As he straightened, he ran his hands up her bare legs and over her hips to bury his hands in her hair and plunder her mouth again. Dear God, the man knew how to kiss.
Sadie grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. Her nipples tingled where they brushed against the material. Shivering, she undid the buttons, then yanked it out of his waistband and shoved it off his shoulders. She would have reached for the buttons on his denims, but he swung her up in his arms and gently set her down on the bed.
He gazed down at her, caressing her naked body with an intensity that made her breath catch. Stripping off the rest of his clothes, he climbed onto the bed and settled himself between her legs, his erection hovering enticingly above her pussy.
“Aren’t you going to spank me first?” she asked.
He chuckled. “I’ve created a monster, haven’t I?”
He teasingly rubbed the head of his penis and down her folds for one long delicious moment before wrapping his arms around her and rolling onto his back, reversing their positions. Grasping her hips, he gently lowered her onto his cock.
Sadie gasped. Not matter how many times they made love, the feeling of his hot, hard shaft inside her would always take her breath away.
“Ride me,” Jake commanded softly, his hand coming down hard on her ass cheek.
Heat spread over her bottom, and she moaned, enjoying the sensation. Jake smacked her ass again, on the opposite cheek this time.
“I said, ride me.”
Sadie did as he ordered, moving up and down on him in perfect rhythm to his spanks. Each time his hand connected with her ass, she clenched tightly around his shaft. The move sent ripples of pleasure through her, making her pant for breath. Her orgasm was approaching. She could feel it.
She picked up the pace. The faster she undulated, the faster and harder Jake spanked her. He delivered one stinging smack after another until her bottom felt like it was on fire. She didn’t bother to hide her squeals. No one would hear her with all the noise downstairs.
With a growl, Jake grabbed her burning ass cheeks in both hands and pumped into her wildly.
Sadie cried out as much from the feel of his strong hands squeezing her tender derriere as from the orgasm that ripped through her. She thought she might actually faint with pleasure.
But she didn’t faint. As she floated back down to earth, she realized Jake had switched their positions again. She blinked up at him, still half dazed. She was barely even aware of what he was doing until she felt him start to pull out. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him still.
“Sadie, I’m close.”
The words were a ragged plea.
“I know. I want you to come inside me.”
His eyes searched hers. “I could get you pregnant.
The thought of Jake’s child growing inside her made her heart squeeze. “Come inside me, Jake. Please.”
Indecision warred in his eyes. His jaw flexed, as if he was fighting to stay in control.
“Please, Jake.”
He hesitated for a fraction of a second more, then plunged back into her. The sensation was more intense this time and she tightened her legs around him, pulling him in as deep as he could go. Jake bent his head to claim her lips in a hot, desperate kiss as he began to thrust. Sadie instinctively lifted her hips to meet his.
She felt the beginni
ngs of another climax immediately. She was so lost in the pleasure she almost didn’t hear the husky words Jake whispered in her ear.
“I’m coming, Sadie. I’m coming.”
Jake buried his face in her neck, exploding inside her with a hoarse groan. Her orgasm this time was so powerful it brought tears to her eyes.
As she floated back down to earth for the second time that night, Sadie felt Jake turn onto his back and pull her close. If it had been hard to hide her attraction to him from everyone before, it was going to be even more difficult now. She wasn’t merely attracted to him anymore. She was in love with him.
The revelation didn’t shock her as much as she thought it would. Probably because she’d loved Jake from the moment he’d rode onto her ranch. She just hadn’t realized it until this moment.
All that was left to do was tell him. But she couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she was more sure of his feelings. For now, it would be her secret.
Chapter Twelve
‡
JAKE WASN’T SURE how he’d dragged himself away from Sadie the next morning. If the ranch hands hadn’t been waiting downstairs for them, he would have spent the entire day making love to her. Even then, he still wasn’t sure he’d get his fill. The woman had been in his blood from the day he’d stepped foot on her ranch, and last night had only made her hold on him stronger. When they got back to the ranch, he was going to ask her to marry him, and he was going to keep asking until she said yes.
If he could wait that long. Sleeping on his a bedroll a few feet from hers the past couple nights had been torture. He wasn’t sure he’d survive a long engagement.
Luckily, they didn’t have a herd of cows to slow them down, so they made the trip in three days easy riding. Jake planned to whisk Sadie into the house as soon as they got there, but that changed the moment he saw Sheriff Ennis and four of his deputies surrounding a very agitated Ned.
“Whatever that bastard Boone told you is a damn lie!” the older man shouted.
Jake reined in his horse and dismounted. Beside him, Sadie did the same. He could tell from the determined tilt of her chin that she intended to confront the sheriff. He caught her arm before she could.
“Go see if Elmer and the others made it back safely,” he said softly. “I’ll handle this.”
She opened her mouth—probably to argue—but then closed it again. Giving him a nod, she took her mare’s reins and started in the direction of the barn. Jake wanted to think those spankings he’d administered might have had something to do with her giving in, but more likely she wanted to check on the men who’d been injured. She’d worried about them the whole ride back. Or maybe she didn’t want to deal with Ennis and his stupidity. Jake didn’t feel like it, either.
He looked at Ned. “Go back to what you were doing, Ned. I’ll take care of this.”
“If yer sure,” Ned said. “Good to have you and Miss Sadie back.”
Giving Ennis a disdainful glare, the older man shuffled off.
Jake turned his gaze on the sheriff. “What’s this all about?”
The man moved his hand so that it was resting on the butt of his pistol. His deputies did the same.
“Harlan Boone claims you and some of your ranch hands shot seven of his men dead out on the plain without provocation,” Ennis said.
Jake swore silently. He should have known. “I don’t kill a man unless he deserves it, Sheriff.”
The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “You admitting you killed them?”
Jake crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m saying Boone’s men started a landslide that started a stampede. When that wasn’t enough, they shot at us. Injured old Elmer and two other hands, and almost killed Sadie.”
Ennis looked taken aback by that. Not to mention a little less sure of himself.
“Reckon Boone didn’t tell you that part of the story, did he, Sheriff?”
“Where are Elmer and the other men who got injured? I’ll have to question to them. I’ll need to talk to Sadie, too.”
“They’re probably in the bunkhouse.” Jake grabbed his horse’s reins. “Follow me.”
He’d barely gone two steps when gunshots echoed from the barn. Jake’s gut clenched. Releasing his horse, he ran toward the barn, the sheriff and his deputies on his heels.
Ned, Clancy and Emmitt were standing there, guns out. Ned’s arm was bleeding and Clancy was pressing a hand to a bullet wound in his own leg. Hugh was lying on the ground a few feet away, blood running down his forehead in rivulets. Everett and Lloyd hurried over to check on him.
“He’s alive,” Everett called over his shoulder. “The bullet just clipped him.”
“What happened?” Jake demanded.
Ned holstered his pistol. “Boone’s men. They kidnapped Miss Sadie.”
Jake’s blood ran cold.
“We tried to stop them, but we were afraid to shoot once they had her,” Emmitt added.
Jake whirled on the sheriff. “You knew about this, didn’t you? Boone sent you to distract me while his men grabbed Sadie.”
He swore. How could he have been so stupid? He drew his pistol and aimed it at Ennis. He was half a second away from squeezing the trigger.
All four deputies reached for their weapons, but the sheriff held up his hands. “Take it easy, boys,” he told them, never taking his eyes from Jake. “My deputies and I weren’t any part of this, Wagner. The last time I saw Harlan Boone he was terrified you were coming to kill him. He didn’t say anything about distracting you so he could go after Miss Buchanan. I swear to you.”
Jake didn’t believe him. But right now, he couldn’t afford to waste the time it would take to shoot Ennis and his deputies. He holstered his pistol.
“Emmitt, round up everyone you can.”
“Don’t be thinking you’re going to take the law into your own hands, Wagner,” Ennis warned.
Jake silenced him with a glare. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to get Sadie back, Sheriff. You’d be smart to stay out of my way.”
He turned and ran for his horse. If Boone of his men hurt Sadie there wouldn’t be a place in heaven or hell where they could hide from him.
*
THE MAN WHO’D tossed her over his horse had learned the hard way to keep his hands off her after she’d given him a black eye and bitten him hard enough to draw blood. Unfortunately, that had gotten her trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Bound and gagged liked she was, there was no way to escape.
Sadie had just come out of the bunkhouse when her captor and a half dozen men had ridden in and grabbed her, then opened fire on Ned, Emmitt and the other ranch hands. She only prayed none of them had been killed.
Damn that Boone! Even if she hadn’t recognized one of his thugs, she would have known he was behind this. Everyone else in town would know, too. Even the sheriff couldn’t turn a blind eye this time. Especially since he’d been talking to Jake when she’d gotten kidnapped.
Jake. She turned her head to look behind them, hoping he was galloping after them. He wasn’t. He would come after her, though. She was sure of it. She just had to stall long enough for Jake to get to Boone’s ranch.
Oh God. What if they weren’t taking her to Boone’s ranch? How would Jake find her? Who knew what Boone and his men might do to her before he did? That thought made her almost as queasy as watching the ground rush by.
When her captor finally reined in his horse and pulled her off, she almost sagged with relief to discover they were indeed on Boone’s ranch. Instead of taking her to the house, however, they dragged her to a small stable behind it. Sadie frowned when she saw it had been turned into a cottage. The lush carpets, fine furniture and elaborate French doors were almost duplicates of those in the main house.
“It’s about time. Show Sadie to a chair, won’t you?”
Sadie started at the voice. She had expected Boone to be giving the orders, not his son Charles. But as her captor shoved her down in a wingback chair, she realized Harlan Boone wasn’t there.
Charles sauntered across the room to stand before her. His gray eyes were colder than she’d ever seen them. Sadie braced herself as he lifted his hand, afraid he was going to hit her, but all he did was jerk the gag out of her mouth.
She glared up at him. “If this is your latest attempt to get me to marry you so your father can get my ranch, it’s not going to work.”
“This has nothing to do with marriage or my father. He doesn’t even know you’re here.”
She frowned, confused. “Then why did his men bring me here?”
“They’re not his men. They’re mine. Just like the men that bastard Wagner killed out on the plain.” His jaw tightened. “Do you have any idea the trouble you’ve caused me? You completely ruined my plan.”
What the heck was he talking about? “Your plan? I thought this was all about your father trying to steal my ranch.”
“Oh, dear old dad would love have your ranch. He just doesn’t have the balls to do what it takes to get it.” Charles let out a harsh laugh. “He might talk a good game, but I’ve been the one doing all the dirty work. Rustling your cattle, poisoning your watering holes, chasing off your ranch hands. It was working, too. Until you hired that son of a bitch Wagner. I could hardly believe my luck when you made that stupid bet with my father. I hadn’t counted on you going along on the cattle drive, but then I figured why not kill two birds with one stone?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Or a few well-aimed boulders?”
His lip curled. “Not that well-aimed or you, that blasted foreman and everyone else who went on that damn cattle drive would be feeding the buzzards right now.”