A Cowboy Worth Claiming (12 page)

“You hungry?” he asked, taking her elbow and leading her out the doorway. He made sure her door was locked. “I’m starved. You won’t be disappointed in the meal.”

Her shoulders slumped and what was left of her good cheer melted away. That weightless feeling that lifted her up moments ago plummeted like an iron anchor tossed into the sea. “No, I, uh, I don’t suppose I will be.”

Her disappointment wouldn’t have anything to do with the food tonight.

Chance had managed to dishearten her all on his own.

* * *

Chance tried his best to ignore Lizzie sitting across from him in the hotel dining room. He called himself ten times a fool for giving her that dress to wear. For putting a big, brilliant smile on her face and worse yet, putting hope into her heart. He didn’t like the way she’d been looking at him when she opened the door. Lizzie wasn’t a doe-eyed female with ulterior intentions like Marissa, Alistair’s stepdaughter. That girl had been pursuing him since the minute she’d laid eyes on him, back at the Duncan spread. No, Lizzie wasn’t manipulative in that way yet she could cause him just as much trouble with those blue-as-sky eyes and that soft look on her face.

Chance wasn’t courting her. No, sir.

She was his job. His debt to pay a man for saving his life and he was glad to do it for Edward.

When they’d ridden into town today he’d caught sight of the dress shop and the impulse struck him to do something for Lizzie. Wasn’t much at all. Just a dress. He’d seen the extent of her wardrobe, and none of the clothes were fitting for a fancy meal in a fine hotel. Hell, the girl was probably headed for a rough road ahead, with her only kin dying right before her eyes and her argumentative nature giving little hope for landing herself a husband.

The end of the trail always put fool ideas into his head. Like the time he’d bet Morey Dunphy that he could outlast him in a drinking contest. Or the time he’d kissed his week’s pay goodbye on a horse race. Then there was the time he’d been dared to tame a wild stallion and nearly broke his neck doing it.

Yep, gifting Lizzie Mitchell a pretty blue dress that made her eyes look like two sapphire gems, well, that was probably the dumbest thing he’d ever done at the end of a trail drive.

She was quiet now, not saying much, pushing food around on her delicately patterned plate. Overhead, a twelve-candle chandelier flickered, casting the table in a soft glow. In truth, even with Chance in his just-bought red shirt and trousers and Lizzie in her calico dress, they were under-adorned for such surroundings. But he knew the food was top caliber and his stomach won out over any sense of decorum. Besides, Lizzie, for some odd reason, seemed to look just right in this place.

“The steak’s pretty good,” he said, annoyed by the silence.

“Hmm. Delicious.”

“How would you know, you haven’t taken a bite yet?”

“Surprised you noticed.”

She had her head down with a pout on her lips.

“I notice things, Lizzie.”

She refused to meet his eyes.

“You had two bites of the corn dumplings. And you buttered your bread.”

She snapped her head up and he was struck again by the beauty of her eyes. He should be used to seeing those eyes landing on him by now, but the hue of the dress made them look an even brighter and deeper blue, like the depths of a rushing river. Chance flinched from the shock.

“Why’d you do it, Chance? Spend money on me and give me a new dress?”

Ah, hell. He should’ve been happy with her silence.

“I told you why,” he answered with a shrug.

“Because you think I’m a poor excuse for a woman?”

“No. I told you.” He held on to his patience. Lizzie needed her feathers soothed. “I saw the dress in the shop and thought you might find use for it tonight.”

“Because you find my clothes sorely lacking?”

Yes. He deliberately didn’t answer. He wouldn’t let her goad him into a fight.

“You know I can’t afford fine clothes, Chance,” she said, color rising to her cheeks. Her anger only made her eyes appear more vivid. “If I could and things were better, I wouldn’t be on the trail with the likes of you.”

Her insult didn’t do him injury. “Exactly my point. I thought you’d find good use for a new dress.”

She didn’t seem to hear him. Her voice was hot with accusation. “I don’t rightly care that my clothes depress you.”

Oh, for Pete’s sake. This was a female trap. Chance recognized it from years of dealing with women. She said she didn’t care, but everything else about her said she did. You’d have thought he’d tarred and feathered her instead of done something nice.

“You look pretty tonight, Lizzie. Is that what you want me to say? With your eyes so brilliant and your hair clean and curly, falling down your back, you’re the prettiest thing in this fancy room. There’s two men over there at the corner table looking at you and I swear, if they stare one more minute, I’m gonna have to get up from my seat and make them put their eyes back in their heads. There now, I said it. Satisfied?”

Chance blinked and mentally cursed himself for being a fool.

Lizzie blinked, too, stunned by his outburst. The crystal water glass she held froze in midair as she darted a glance at the two men in the corner. She noted them indeed watching her. She turned back to him in true astonishment. The strong pull of her eyes sucked him in and he got lost in them. They stared at each other for a long time.

Then a wide smile spread across her face. “Really? You’d do that?”

Chance frowned, unhappy that he’d spoken the truth. At any other time Lizzie’s smile could infect him but tonight, he couldn’t afford the luxury of letting her get too close. He’d been alone with her on the trail and it hadn’t been as easy as he’d hoped to keep his thoughts pure. “Forget it.”

Lizzie set down her crystal water glass with infinite care and looked him square in the eyes. She spoke on a whispered breath. “If I live to be ninety, I’ll never forget you said that.”

Chance stared at her. His mouth was creased tight. He shook his head at his own calamity, but Lizzie didn’t seem to notice. Her mood brightened and from then on, she chattered incessantly. He didn’t know the girl had so much to talk about, but she filled his ear until it was time for dessert.

Lizzie ordered tea cakes and hot cocoa, claiming she’d never had either before. Chance had vastly more experience with desserts than Lizzie, but his tastes never strayed far from cherry pie or apple cobbler. Tonight he chose the pie with a dollop of cream.

Afterward, Lizzie said, “I’m so full I swear I won’t eat another bite for days.”

“Seems I’ve heard that somewhere before.” Chance grabbed his dainty coffee cup and swallowed down the contents in one hearty gulp.

“This time I truly mean it. Everything was delicious, Chance.”

Lizzie had that look in her eye again. A warning shiver ran up and down his body. “You want to turn in? It’s getting late.”

“I suppose.” Lizzie sighed and leaned back, rolling her shoulders and stretching her body like a contented cat. Her chin came up to expose the slender recesses of her throat.

Chance swallowed and looked away. Unfortunately he met the gaze of the two men still gawking at Lizzie. Blood boiling, he sent them a cold glare and rose from his seat, keeping his eyes trained on them as he set his hat on his head. They had the good sense to change the focus of their attention. He tossed cash down on the table and then took Lizzie’s elbow, helping her rise. He escorted her out of the dining room. “I’m in need of a drink.”

“But we just had—”

“Not that kind of a drink, Lizzie. If I deposit you in your room, I need your promise you’ll stay put all night.”

Her arm tensed under his hand. “You’re locking me away?”

“Keeping you safe.”

She pulled her elbow out of his grip with a yank. Her eyes sparked with blue fire. “You’re going to the saloon?”

It wasn’t any of her concern what he did the rest of the night. Chance kept on walking until he reached the carpeted staircase in the lobby. “That’s what men do at the end of a drive.”

Lizzie was a step behind. Quickly, she caught up. “I… What about what women do at the end of a drive?”

Chance wasn’t in the mood for her petulance. He was attracted to her, which baffled him to no end. Seeing two suited men with bowler hats show her some interest knocked something loose inside that gnawed at him. “I don’t rightly know, I’ve never been on a drive with a gal. I suppose they go to their rooms and sleep.”

“I’m not promising you that I will.”

Those same two men who’d been staring at her, walked past and Lizzie turned her head with an upturned chin to smile at them.

Blood pounded in his skull at her stupidity. She’d defied him deliberately. He circled his hands around her arms and brought her up close. They were almost nose to nose. Her eyes grew wide. He lowered his voice to a rasp wrought with warning. “Don’t be a fool, Lizzie. You’re in a strange town. You don’t know what the night will bring.”

The fire in Lizzie’s eyes died and her body went limp. She gazed at him and spoke with a plea in her voice. “I could say the same to you, Chance. You’re a stranger here. What if…what if…” Her voice trailed off and a fearful look stole over her expression.

The scent of lilac filled his nostrils, calming his temper some. She had a look on her face now that beckoned his protective urges. What was she saying? That she cared about him and worried over him? No one had cared for his safety in a long time. Actually, the last person to do so was her grandfather.

His hands fell away and he took a step back. He couldn’t go soft on her. She had enough to lose already and he was trying to protect her from more harm. The saloon enticed him with mind-numbing whiskey and the attentions of a saloon girl who wasn’t an innocent, a woman who could satisfy his lust enough to keep his impure thoughts of Lizzie at bay.

“You doubt I can take care of myself?”

She shook her head without much commitment. “No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” He folded his arms across his chest and waited for her explanation.

Her face flamed and she struggled, but finally she said her piece. “I don’t want you to…to…to lie with a woman tonight.”

Chance inhaled sharp. Sometimes, Lizzie truly amazed him. Only Lizzie would be so honest. Only Lizzie would shed her pride to admit something like that.

“That’s what you were gonna do,” she said, searching his eyes now.

Chance wouldn’t deny it, but he wouldn’t speak the words, either. He, too, didn’t know what the night would bring. He stared at his boots, trying to choose the right words. “Lizzie, you and me…you can’t go thinking…”

“I…don’t. But you gifted me the dress and then we had a fine meal.”

“We halfway argued through it.”

“Seems to be what we do,” she said. Sometimes, Lizzie made a world of sense. “Tonight, I forgot about my troubles, Chance. It was kinda nice.”

He snapped his head up to find eyes filled with both hope and desperation. He couldn’t rightly ignore her plea. “I’ll make you a deal. You go on up to your room. And I’ll go over to the saloon for a drink.
Only
a drink. I’ll knock on your door to let you know I’m back.”

She sent him the small sweet smile she usually reserved for her grandfather. It shot his lust for a saloon girl to hell. He turned her toward the stairs and put a hand to her lower back. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the room.”

They climbed the stairs together and he put the key into the lock then pushed the door open. She entered and turned to face him with those bluer-than-blue eyes, looking pretty enough to make him forget his good sense.

“Lock your door, Lizzie,” he ordered, reaching for the doorknob. The door whispered shut with his pull, blocking out her image. From behind the door, Lizzie turned the lock and Chance tried it once to make sure it was secure. Then he whipped off his hat, scrubbed his forehead and the headache developing there, figuring he’d not only earned himself a shot of whiskey, he deserved the whole dang bottle.

Chapter Eight

S
unshine poked its way into Lizzie’s room, disrupting her sleep. The warmth spread through her and she rebelled against the morning by refusing to open her eyes. A feather-down mattress and soft sheets cradled her aching body in a cocoon of comfort granting her the best sleep of her life.

She raised her arms over her head and pointed her toes, elongating her body in a taut rejuvenating stretch. Her muscles cried with relief. She wiggled her toes and grinned. A sigh escaped from deep within her and her entire body relaxed. She had every intention of curling back into the luxury of the bed, when a knock sounded at her door.

“Lizzie, it’s me.”

She sat up. Her eyes popped open and she squinted from the sunlight streaming in. “Chance? Oh, uh, just a second. I’m not dressed.”

She bounded up quickly and stubbed her little toe on the edge of the bed. “Ouch!”

“Lizzie, I’m waitin’.”

She rubbed her toe. “I’m coming,” she called out. She glanced at the wall clock as it chimed the nine o’clock hour. Heavens, was it really that late? For all her days, she couldn’t remember another time when she’d slept this long.

Chance paced behind the door and knocked again. “How long’s it take to get dressed?”

Lizzie washed her face and grabbed at the dress lying on the silk screen. Still a bit groggy, she fumbled with it, but managed to finally slip it over her head. Smoothing the gown out with haste, next she ran her fingers through her hair. Chance wouldn’t wait much longer. They had to get to the stockyards and see about the herd. With any luck, they’d be on their way home before noon.

“Lizzie,” he said, impatient, just as she yanked open the door.

“What?” Seeing Chance first thing in the morning wasn’t a hardship, no matter how much she denied it. For one moment, she forgot she was mad as a hatter at him.

He strode into her room, taking the hat from his head. His eyes immediately went to the now-empty bed and the tangled sheets. “I see you slept like a hog in heaven.”

“I did not!” He dared compare her to a hog.

He grinned.

“Wipe that silly smile off your face, Chance. You lied to me.”

Chance’s eyes narrowed to slits and his tone grew serious. “Don’t be calling me a liar, Lizzie.”

Her chin came up. “I will. We made a deal last night. Bet you forgot your promise the second you walked out of the hotel.”

He folded his arms across his chest and spoke with enough confidence to confuse her. “You’d lose that bet, Lizzie.”

“You didn’t knock on my door last night.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I knocked.”

She’d waited for his knock. Each minute that had ticked by crushed her with disappointment. Finally, she’d slid into the comfort of the bed, waiting like a fool, for Chance to live up to his part of the bargain. “Well, I didn’t hear anything.”

Chance put his hands on his hips, peering at her as if she were a child needing a good reprimand. “That’s because you were sleeping the sleep of the dead. I knocked, just like I said. Twice. I heard you snoring, so I walked off and went to bed.”

“I don’t snore, Chance Worth.”

“You make noise when you sleep, Lizzie. And that’s a fact. Same thing happened this morning. I came to get you. I knocked a few times.”

Her eyes widened. She vaguely remembered hearing something like a bump or a knock as she dozed this morning, but she’d put it out of her hazy mind and gone back to sleep. Dawning awareness crept in, replacing her disappointment. The bed had been heaven to sink into last night and she might have drifted off quicker than she recalled. “You were here this morning? Why?”

“I came to get you. We had heifers to sell, remember?”

“Of course, I remember. I just… I just slept a little late. We can go now.” Lizzie turned and grabbed her boots. She sat on the rumpled bed, and lifted one boot to her foot.

“There’s no need to go now. I’ve already gone.”

Startled by his triumphant tone, she asked, “What? You went without me?”

“I sure did and it’s a good thing, too. Met a cattle broker eager to buy the entire herd. Seems the big sale they’d expected this week didn’t happen. One of the herds ran into trouble along the trail. That’s why the stockyard was empty yesterday. Bad news for them. Good news for us.”

Lizzie lifted off the bed, her heart beating like crazy. “How is it good news? Tell me, Chance. Tell me!”

Chance pulled a paper from his vest pocket. He took his time unfolding it. Lizzie grabbed the note from his hand and quickly read the bill of sale. The calculations jumped off the page. Those numbers were all she noticed. She stared at them, then her entire body began shaking, her hands trembling so badly she could hardly hold on to the note. “But, but… This is three dollars a head more than we expected!”

Chance nodded with a broad smile. “Yep, it is. All we need is your signature.”

This meant a whole new beginning for the ranch, for her and most importantly for her grandfather. Tears stung behind her eyes and a burden lifted from her shoulders. She flung the note aside and bounded straight into Chance’s arms. “We did it! We did it, Chance.”

Chance didn’t return her embrace at first, but Lizzie clung to him, not caring a dang bit about her display. Then a rumble of pure laughter rose up from his throat and his arms came around her waist. Her senses heightened. His soapy-fresh scent wafted down as he held her to his chest. She laughed, too, and felt herself being lifted from the ground and twirled into a wide circle until her toes came off the floor and her gown flowed in a moon-shaped arch. Her heart swelling with joy, when her feet hit the ground again she stared into Chance’s eyes. Lifting herself up, she pressed half a dozen kisses to his cheeks murmuring, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Chance had a smile on his face, too, but his expression changed with that last peck to his cheek. It was a look she’d not seen on him before. His lips straightened to a fine line. His gaze, fastened to her mouth now, turned molten like steaming hot molasses. Every nerve jolted in awareness and pure desire bubbled up inside her. She shivered with a need too powerful to ignore. She wouldn’t stop to think about what she was doing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted up again, brushing her mouth to his cheek once more, slowly this time, savoring the taste of him on her lips, drinking in the feel of his taut skin and manly stubble, breathing in the subtle scent of earth and soap. His name whispered from her throat. “Chance.”

She stood poised there, with her lips so close to his mouth, her heart beating nearly through her chest. His hand came up to her head and he spread fingers through her hair. He made a sound, a low, deep guttural groan right before he turned his head toward her mouth. Their lips hovered dangerously close.

Kiss me, Chance. Kiss me like a man would kiss a woman.

“Lizzie,” he rasped. “Don’t tempt me like this.”

She gazed into his eyes and he seemed lost, searching. For a measure of time, she feared he would reject her. Feared that he would back away with a reprimand. She prayed it wasn’t so. His hand tightened in her hair and he lifted her face ever closer as he bent his head down to her. Anticipation swarmed in her belly. He inhaled a sharp breath and then his lips bore down on her mouth.

His mouth was rough on hers, like a thirsty man who couldn’t get enough to drink. He held her tight, giving her no choice to deny him, no choice but to kiss him back. It was heaven, being in his arms, having him devour her this way. His body pressed close. His big hand wove through her hair. The swarming in her belly grew intense. Tiny impulses prickled her below the waist. She’d never met with these sensations before. She’d never been kissed before. She didn’t know for certain if what she was experiencing was normal or expected. There was so much she didn’t know.

Yet kissing him this way and pleasuring him seemed natural. It seemed right. Instincts took over and her body surrendered to Chance. She would give him anything he asked. Her spirit was buoyed by the notion and her kisses deepened with his urging.

“Lord above, Lizzie,” he whispered between kisses and then something miraculous happened. Something powerful and unexpected. Chance parted her lips and as her mouth fell open, he drove his tongue inside. The first brushing of their tongues shot through her like a jolt of lightning. The impact was startling, a new revelation, and Lizzie experienced a sense of womanhood, maybe for the first time in her life. Stirrings gripped and surprised her. A tiny moan of gratification escaped her throat and Chance immediately drew her up closer, telling her the sound had pleased him. Her dress rustled against his trousers as an achingly slow pressure began to build below her waist. Her bosom swelled, making her nipples bud to upturned peaks. Even through the layers of their clothes, the intimate position spurred a sense of femininity and desire.

While she was soft as jelly, Chance’s body grew hard. His thighs were unyielding as they brushed hers, his chest, a wall of power. His mouth, though, was giving even in his boldness as he took liberties with her. She wouldn’t think to refuse him. Not when he brought her such immense, unexpected pleasure. His tongue probed the hollow depths of her mouth and she welcomed the intrusion. Their tongues met and danced and entwined, enveloping her in a lusty frenzy that spun her mind. Dictated by her body’s impulses, she moved closer. A stampede of tingles pricked her skin and the pressure building inside intensified until Lizzie’s legs could barely hold her upright. She wobbled, but Chance gripped her tight against him, protecting her from the fall.

Their hips smacked against each other and he let out a helpless groan. Lizzie’s pulse raced and her breathing defied nature. Chance struggled to keep a distance between them, but Lizzie pressed herself to him once again. Her female instincts, ones she could not yet fully describe, took over her body. A need grew and the unrequited throbbing frightened her some, but at the same time, made her wish for more and more.

Chance took that moment to release her mouth from the kiss and the loss was almost too much to bear. She caught her breath and so did he, then his lips moved over her chin to brush more kisses to the underside of her throat. His hair brushed her chin and tickled her there, but she didn’t giggle. No, she could only breathe in his soap scent and fill her nostrils with it as he worked his capable mouth down to her shoulders.

At the same time his lips moistened her skin he brought his hands around her waist and slid his palms up the sides of her torso. His thumbs caressed the outer swell of her breasts and the peaks lifted in response, straining against the gown’s material.

“Chance, touch me there.”

Heaven above, she hadn’t meant to plead aloud. She gasped, not from humiliation but because he obeyed the command.

His lips moved along her shoulders, moistening her bare skin, while his thumbs pressed the side of her breasts. Pleasure shot clear through her. She held her breath and her pulse pounded hard against her chest. He brought his mouth achingly close to the top swell of her breasts as his thumb moved closer and closer. Anticipation grew, her nipples puckered and when his thumb flicked her pebbled peak, waves of sizzling heat scorched her belly. He rubbed her there, circling around the most sensitive area and Lizzie grew faint with need. It was as if the material hadn’t provided a barrier. As if she felt his wondrous touch, skin to skin. Her entire body was attuned and waiting for more. “Oh…Chance,” she whispered, her throat barely working. “Don’t stop. Please.”

He froze. She sucked in a breath, willing him to continue, to move his hands over her body, to kiss the very tips of her bosom as she so wanted. This time, her plea had a different effect. He appeared to have come out of a daze. His lashes lifted in several blinks and his mouth whipped away from her chest. The strong hands that had pleasured her expertly dropped to his sides. A look of recrimination stole over his features. His stare brought shivers of dread to her stomach.

He stepped back quickly, as if she’d lit him on fire.

“Chance?”

There was the slightest shake of his head, a quick dismissal. Lips that had greedily taken hers, tightened to thin lines. “Go ahead and sign the note, Lizzie.”

He bent to pick it up from the floor.

“Chance, you can’t…you and I…we…” The sweet pleasure he’d inflicted still hummed throughout her body. She never wanted the feeling to go away.

Chance folded the note then tucked it into his pocket. “Never mind. You’ll sign it at the stockyard.”

“It was my first kiss,” she said quietly, standing there watching him pull away from her.

He winced, his face twisting for a split second, before he set his expression back to stone. He picked up her boots and set them in her hands. “It was just a kiss, Lizzie. Just consider it one more lesson I’ve taught you on the trail.”

She blinked, fighting off sudden disappointment, then lowered down on the bed and laced up her boots. Chance strode to the door, waiting. The thrill of being in his arms hadn’t diminished, neither had her joy over selling the herd for a lucrative amount of money. Her pulse still pounded and her flesh still ached for his touch. She hadn’t wanted that kiss to end.

Once her boots were snug on her feet, she marched toward him. Chance still wore his stone face when he opened the door. She hesitated. She’d never been one to hold back from speaking her mind. “I wanted more,” she said.