The Outlaw (6 page)

The sun trickling down through the those
trees, bright shafts of light illuminating her and making her hair
shine… she’d looked like an angel standing there under those wispy
tree branches. He’d wanted to lay her flat on her back, hike those
skirts up to her waist, and bury himself inside her the moment she
turned to look at him.

“You should have left her behind,” he said to
himself, and was immediately disgusted with the thought. Virgil
would have seen her, like he had, and taken her. Then where would
she be? Dead. Virgil would have used her, handed her off to the
others when he’d had his fill, and they would have slit her throat
when they were through. He’d heard enough of their stories in the
time he’d been riding with them to know. They would have killed her
and not thought twice about it.

Stopping by a tree, he leaned his shoulder
against it, crossing his arms over his chest. He grimaced when his
left arm gave him a twinge of pain. That damn bullet of Virgil’s
would cause aggravating aches for the next month.

He should have shot the bastard the moment he
had a chance. Setting that gang up hadn’t been as easy as it had
been in the past. Just proved the outlaws were getting smarter. Or
he was getting too old for this kind of life. One couldn’t take but
so many chances before his number came up.

Being shot the year before should have been
the sign he’d been looking for but what had he done? Climbed back
on his horse the moment he’d healed enough to ride and went looking
for the next rowdy bunch of outlaws. He should have stayed at the
ranch, helped Holden run the place, found some sweet smelling woman
to ease the pains of working a horse ranch all day and been done
with it.

Hearing a noise behind him, he turned his
head to find Sarah standing at the edge of the woods looking at
him. Damn if she wasn’t the finest looking woman he’d set eyes on
in ages. He’d seen his fair share of them, too. Had more than he
could count in his bed a time or two but none had compared to this
one.

The others had been too easy. He flashed them
a smile and it took less than a minute to get them to drop their
drawers. He didn’t think it would be that easy with her, though.
She was different. More refined than the women he associated with.
A real lady. And more spirited than any other woman he’d ever met.
This one wouldn’t lay down and let a man have his way. No, she’d
want things done her way and wouldn’t be afraid to tell him how to
do it. He held back a smile at the thought. He’d love to find
out.

He groaned inwardly. Thinking like that was
what got him in his current state. He needed to get this girl out
of his system and fast. Maybe he should just let her know what he
wanted. For all he knew she wasn’t as chaste as he imagined her to
be. She may actually be as easy as all the others were. Somehow he
doubted it but one never knew until they asked, right?

* * * *

Sarah started to ask him if anything was
wrong but he turned and started walking back to where she stood.
His gaze roamed her body from head to toe before he stopped in
front of her. The look on his face made her nervous. His expression
was lustful and hungry. Her pulse leaped, butterflies danced in her
stomach, and she licked her lips as her mouth became suddenly dry.
He groaned when she did, mumbled a curse under his breath and
reached up, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her. Her
shocked gasp offered him entrance into her mouth and he wasted no
time slipping his tongue in to taste her.

She went limp at the first flick of his
tongue against her own, her body swaying toward him, and Colt
wrapped his arms around her, angled his head and took everything he
wanted. She was slow to reciprocate but when she did, sliding her
tongue against his, his hold on her tightened, his mouth harder and
more urgent.

The one kiss she’d had from William had been
all lips, wet and messy, and she’d prayed the entire time it lasted
that it would end sooner rather than later. This kiss… she never
imagined it would be like this.

Colt tasted faintly of whiskey, his scent
tickled her senses and she inhaled it, memorizing it before
tentatively placing her hands at his waist. His hold on her
tightened, that wicked tongue teasing and dipping until tingles
raced down her limbs, causing tiny zaps of pleasure that left her
weak and light headed. Small sounds escaped her throat, her breaths
panted out as he fisted her hair in his hand, angling her head the
way he wanted. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, teased it
with his teeth before his tongue once again invaded her mouth with
rapid plunges, the whiskers from his growing beard rasping against
the flesh around her mouth until her face felt lit with fire.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, leaned
against him and mimicked him, kissing him with a growing hunger
that left her dazed and pleasantly warm.

He let her go suddenly, holding her at arms
length. They were both breathing heavily and Sarah was stunned when
he turned and walked away, back to where the horse was, without
saying a word. He stood there for long moments before turning his
head to look over his shoulder. “Let’s go, sweetheart. We need to
keep going.”

It took her longer than it should have to
catch her breath, even longer to make her body react. She crossed
the distance, staring at his back, and stopped when he turned to
face her. The lustful look was still on his face and something she
couldn’t even put a name on lurked in his eyes. It caused those
butterflies to dance again. His gaze roamed her face, stopping on
her kiss swollen lips before rising to her eyes. Sarah blinked at
him and shook her head. “Why did you kiss me?”

He gave her a sudden, lazy smile. “So I’d
stop thinking about doing it.” He reached for her, wrapping his
hands around her waist and lifted her to the horse. He put her in
the saddle this time and climbed in behind her. She wiggled her
bottom to give him more room and gasped when his arm clamped around
her waist and he pulled her back into his chest, his head lowering
until his breath was warm against her ear. “And if you don’t stop
wiggling that ass around on me I’m going to do everything else I
can’t stop thinking about, too.”

Sarah’s eyes widened at his words and that’s
when she felt him against her bottom, hard and thick. Those nervous
butterflies increased their movement and her mouth went so dry, it
was difficult to swallow.

Colt nudged the horse into movement and Sarah
sat still. She was afraid to even breathe. His obvious erection was
the only thing she could think about and it took her near an hour
to relax.

“Feeling better now?”

She glanced over her shoulder when he leaned
forward again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He laughed, the sound a husky vibration
against her back. “I’m talking about you not moving a muscle for
the last hour. You’ve been stiff as a iron rod since I put you on
the horse.”

“Well…” Lord, what was she supposed to say?
So have you? You shocked me with that kiss and feeling you against
my bottom proved I was wrong in thinking you weren’t interested in
me? No. She couldn’t say any of those things.

He moved his head, his breath on her neck
causing goose bumps to pimple her skin. “Was it that nice of a
kiss?” His lips touched the skin beneath her ear, his tongue
teasing the flesh there. “Surely feeling me against you hasn’t
shocked you so much. Every man who looks at you wants you, I’d
imagine. I’m no different. I just don’t wait around for things to
happen. Life’s too short to not take what you want.”

Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat. “You
want…” My goodness, she couldn’t even say it.

“You sound surprised.”

She was, actually. Of course, he was a man,
and they usually thought with their… She erased the thought and
silently admonished the young serving girl in her father’s employ
for putting such notions into her head. “Most men want what they
can’t have.”

He chuckled. “Does that mean I can’t have
you, Sarah?”

Her pulse leaped again when he said her name.
Goose bumps broke out on her arms and the word whispered inside her
head like a dream. Her mouth opened to offer him a reply but Sarah
found the words wouldn’t come.

If she were honest with herself, she knew he
could have her but that niggling little irritation of him being an
outlaw was always there to taunt her. She couldn’t in good
conscious take up with a wanted criminal. What would her father
say? What would her friends say? Lord, what would William do? She
felt ashamed she hadn’t thought of him since yesterday. He’d asked
her to marry him, he should have been on her mind constantly since
being taken from outside the bank but he wasn’t. That devilishly
handsome outlaw at her back was.

Colt’s arm was still around her waist, the
heat burning clean through her dress. His chest was pressed against
her back and he’d yet to move his mouth away from her neck. His
warm breath against her skin was leading her to distraction.

He moved his thumb, sliding it against the
fabric covering her stomach and she felt the touch clean to her
breasts, her nipples aching to be on the receiving end of that
casual contact. She tried to ignore the feeling and focused on his
question. “You can’t have me. I’m engaged, remember?”

“You aren’t married and until you are, you’re
fair game in my book.”

Sarah turned her head to look at him. A
teasing light shown in his eyes but under it she could see the
truth of everything he said. He did want her. Her heart gave a
powerful jump in her chest at the realization. “Fair game? For
what, exactly?”

“Anything you’re willing to let me have.”

That hand resting on her stomach moved,
climbing up her torso. Sarah’s breath caught when she realized what
he was going to do. A fleeting thought of stopping him screamed
inside her head. She locked eyes with him instead, her mouth
opening a fraction to collect more air a second before he cupped
her right breast. The contact sent sparks jumping through her
veins. His thumb slid against her hardened nipple while shards of
pleasure caused her stomach to clench and tighten. He leaned
forward, stealing a soft kiss before extending his tongue, licking
her lips.

Sarah’s eyelids slid shut, her head falling
back to his shoulder as his hand manipulated her breast, his mouth
slanting over hers until she felt drugged. When he broke the kiss,
she forced her eyes open to look at him.

“What do you say, sweetheart? You going to
let me get you out of my system?”

The words snapped what little sense she had
remaining back into place. He wanted her out of his system? That
was all? Then what?

He’d leave her ruined and used, that’s
what.

Her anger built hot and furious by the time
she was able to speak. “Is that all it will take?” she asked,
trying to keep her voice from betraying her outrage. “If I let you
bed me, you’ll be able to sate your desire for me?”

He shrugged. “Might take a time or two but
pretty much. I’ve never taken a woman to my bed and wanted to keep
her there on a permanent basis. Too complicated.”

Complicated. Sarah scoffed at the idea. “You
are a scoundrel, Colt… whatever your last name is, and I’d rather
die than let you take my virtue and toss me away as if I were
nothing but a common whore. Now take your hands off me before I
break every one of your fingers!”

She grabbed his hand, jerking it away from
her before shoving her elbow into his stomach. His grunt of pain
wasn’t enough to ease her desire to maim him. Of all the
insufferable, low down things to say. She was fuming by the time he
started to laugh. “Get me to the next town, outlaw, so I can rid
myself of you and your… desires. I’m sure you can find a suitable
woman there who will allow you to use her. Lord only knows you’ve
the money to pay for her.”

Chapter Five

It took them another day to find a town with
a telegraph office and a stagecoach line running through it and the
moment Colt stopped the horse, Sarah jumped to the ground and spent
the next five minutes searching all the buildings to familiarize
herself with the layout of everything. When Colt climbed from the
horse, she turned on him. “Give me money for the telegraph.”

He raised an eyebrow at her before grinning.
“You haven’t said a word to me since yesterday and the first time
you do, you want money?”

Sarah pursed her lips and scowled. “You are
the reason I’m here so you’re going to be the one who sees that I
get back home. Besides, it’s not like I don’t know you have money.
You robbed my father’s bank, remember?” She held out her hand and
lifted her chin. “Now give me enough money to send a wire home, pay
for a stagecoach ticket, and get a hotel room.”

He stared at her for long moments before
looking down the street. Sarah tapped her booted foot on the ground
as he inspected all the buildings. He reached into his pocket and
pulled a handful of coins out and handed them to her. “I suppose
you’ll be handing me over to the local sheriff now?”

“Tempting,” she said, looking down at the
coins in her hand before closing her fist around them. It was more
than she’d ever need for the things she required. Just proved he
had a small fortune tucked away somewhere. “But I wish to be rid of
you and turning you in means I’ll be stuck retelling what has
happened for days. I wish to forget the whole ordeal so consider it
an act of kindness on my part, one you don’t deserve.” She turned
and walked away, looking back over her shoulder at him when she
reached the sidewalk. “And I’m keeping what’s left of your money,
just so you know.”