Lover's Gold (22 page)

“Understand?” she repeated. “What is there to understand? You told me your name was Morgan. It isn’t. In fact, you aren’t any of the things I believed.” A glimpse of concern flashed across his features and tore at her heart. Why in God’s name had he come here?

“I wish there was some way to change things,” he said. “All I can say is that if I had it to do again, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

Elaina sagged in defeat. As much as she wanted to hate him, she couldn’t. “I guess in my heart I know you’re telling the truth. Now, please, let’s just leave it at that. I’ve got a life of my own now and—”

Ren grabbed her arms and hauled her up short. “You call singing in Chase Cameron’s whorehouse a life? I want you to come back to San Francisco. I have friends there. I’ll find you a decent job, a nice place to live, make sure you have everything you need. You saved my life, Elaina. It’s the least I can do.”

There it was again. His sense of duty. Just the same as when he’d left Keyserville. He always wanted to do what was right for her—but always for the wrong reasons.

“I don’t want your charity, Ren. Please, just go away and leave me alone.” They were standing outside the saloon, and moonlight reflected on the sprinkling of silver at his temples. Where her hands pressed against the fabric of his shirt, she could feel the hard bands of muscle beneath. As he held her immobile, the warmth of his hands heated her flesh and a tremor raced up her spine.

“I’m not leaving you here, Elaina. Not this time.”

“I’m not going with you. And if you try to force me, I’ll call Chase. He’ll stop you.”

Ren bristled. So Chase Cameron was behind all this. Chase always had an eye for a beautiful woman. Somehow he’d met Elaina, and if Ren knew Chase, he was scheming right now how to land her in his bed—or maybe he already had. A hard knot curled in Ren’s stomach.

“If I decide you’re going with me,” he said, “there is nothing Chase Cameron can do to stop me.” He looked into Elaina’s tawny eyes. They betrayed nothing. Her bosom heaved beneath the low-cut dress, conjuring memories of rose-colored nipples and skin as smooth as satin. His blood pounded in his ears, and his body stirred with desire. It was all he could do to keep from pulling her into his arms. He ran his tongue across his lips, fighting the urge to kiss her. If it weren’t for Jacob Stanhope and the promises he’d made . . .

“This isn’t over, Elaina. Not yet.” He looked at her hard. “I’ll be back.”

Elaina watched as he turned and walked away, his broad back and narrow hips receding into the darkness. Hot tears welled in her eyes as she ran back inside and up to her room. Why couldn’t he have left her alone? Now that she’d seen him again, she felt worse than ever. Sinking down on her bed, she steeped in her misery until a knock at the door interrupted her. Drying her eyes with the hem of her dress, she opened the door.

“Is there anything I can do?” Chase Cameron’s lazy drawl and warm smile only made her feel worse.

“No, Chase, but thank you for asking. If you don’t mind, I’d like some time alone.”

“Whatever you say, but if your friend Daniels gives you any trouble, you just call me.”

So the two men knew each other. She nodded. “Thanks, Chase, I will.”

“Promise?”

She smiled in spite of herself. Chase had a way of doing that to her. “I promise. Thanks.”

She closed the door behind him and tried not to think of Ren.

Ren checked into the Central City Hotel, knowing he was lucky to have found a room at all. He removed his boots and shirt and stretched out on the narrow bed. So far he’d made a mess of everything. Elaina practically hated him, and now Chase Cameron, with his southern-gentleman drawl, was smack in the middle of things. Not that Chase wasn’t a decent man, in a cunning sort of way. Ren actually liked him—up to a point. But Chase was certainly not the man for Elaina. When it came to women, Chase had the morals of a gutter rat. Surely Elaina was smart enough not to fall for a guy like Chase?

Ren pulled a small gold pocket watch from his breeches and snapped open the cover. He’d been lying on his bed trying to fall asleep for almost two hours. Pressing the cover closed, he sat up and slid the watch back into his pocket. Why the hell fight it? Maybe if he had a couple of drinks, he’d be tired enough to sleep. He pulled on his boots, shrugged into his shirt, tucking the hem into his breeches, and headed into the night.

Though a warning voice told him it was a bad idea, he walked toward the Black Garter, pushed his way through the swinging doors, and melded into the surging crowd.

From where he stood near the back of the bar, Ren had a clear view of the staircase leading to the rooms above the saloon and could even see a few doors. A procession of prospectors and cowhands beat a never-ending path up those stairs, and it was all Ren could do to resist the urge to pound on every door up there until he found Elaina. The thought that someone might be in her room right now caused his stomach to chum.

Elaina awoke to a light tap at her door. Exhausted from her jumbled emotions, she had fallen asleep without even removing her red and black dress.

“Give me just a minute,” she called out. Walking to the basin, she poured in some water and washed her face. With a rough towel, she patted the water away as she walked to the door.

“Hello, Miss Lainey.”

“Hello, Willie. What can I do for you?”

Willie Jenkins stood in the hallway, hat in hand, a decided droop to his mouth. “Could I speak to you for just a second? It’s about Delsey.”

Though the hour was late, Elaina was usually up much later. Knowing he wouldn’t have bothered her unless it was important and seeing his forlorn expression, she invited him in. After all, nobody else worried about propriety. “What is it, Willie?”

He towered above her, tugging the lobe of one coffee-cup ear. “It’s just that . . . well, I was wonderin’ if you might speak to Delsey for me.”

“I’d be happy to, Willie. What about?”

Willie cleared his throat. “Well, me and Delsey been seeing each other regular now for nigh on two years. My gold claim is paying off steady, and I want Delsey to marry me.”

“Why, Willie, that’s wonderful! So what on earth do you need me for? Just ask her.”

“It ain’t that simple, Miss Lainey. Where Delsey comes from, down Tennessee way, a woman who’s . . . who’s, well, a might less than pure, she don’t marry. Delsey thinks she ain’t good enough for me. I told her it’s all a bunch of hooey, but she won’t listen. I want to provide for her, take her away from here. Please talk to her, Miss Lainey. She’ll listen to you.”

Elaina clutched Willie’s hand. “Of course I’ll talk to her. Delsey’s a good woman. She’s true to you, and there’s no reason you two shouldn’t marry.”

For the first time Willie smiled. He slapped his floppy-brimmed hat against his thigh, then set it back on his head, pulling it low. “Thanks, Miss Lainey. That’s mighty fine of you.” Jerking open her door, he stepped out into the hall.

“Oh, by the way,” he said, “Delsey loaned me some money the other night when I forgot my pocketbook. I meant to give it back to her earlier. Ed Drake and some of his boys is waitin’ for me in the alley. We’s headin’ over to Ed’s place to play a little poker. Could you give it to her for me?”

He handed Elaina a wad of money and, from habit, she stuffed it down the front of her dress. The men often threw money to her while she sang, and she’d learned quickly there was only one safe place to stash it.

“If I don’t see her tonight, I’ll give it to her first thing in the morning. Good night, Willie.”

“Good night, Miss Lainey, and thanks for everything.” Elaina smiled at him and closed the door. Well, it looked as though her friend Delsey had a chance for happiness. She wished she could say the same for herself.

Standing at the end of the bar looking up at Elaina’s door, Ren Daniels gripped his whiskey glass until his knuckles turned white. So that was the way of it. Elaina was more than a singer at the Black Garter—she was a whore.

Damn! Surely this couldn’t be his fault, too? He watched the burly miner descend the stairs with a wide grin on his face. Elaina must have performed well. A picture of her slender, full-breasted body writhing beneath the big miner set his blood to pounding. He was tom between sadness at the lot she had chosen in life and rage that he was not the man who had just left her room. How like a woman to turn him away, then fall into a stranger’s arms without a second thought.

He’d seen the miner hand Elaina a wad of money. He hoped she hadn’t priced herself too cheap.

“Barkeep!” he called to the graying man who stood polishing glasses just a few feet away. “Bring me another drink. Make it a double.” He clenched his fist and set his jaw. Damn her! Damn her to hell for making him feel so bad.

The third whiskey bolstered his courage and brought him an idea. Why should he be any different from the others? She was a whore now. She sold her favors to the highest bidder, and Ren had a pocketful of money. He wasn’t married yet, and even if he were, Melissa would never expect fidelity. She would probably encourage him to have affairs—it would mean less obligation for her. He downed the whiskey, paid the barkeep for a couple of tokens, and headed toward the stairs. No one else had entered Elaina’s room, so he knew she was alone. Alone and hungry for another customer. Well, that was just fine with him.

Elaina slipped out of her dress and donned a light silk wrapper. Seated in front of her mirror, she began to brush her hair. A hundred strokes a night. That’s what her mother always said. For the third time that evening, she heard a knock at her door. Maybe Delsey had come to say good night, and she and Elaina could have their talk, though the subject of marriage was not one she relished discussing. It always brought thoughts of Ren to mind.

Elaina sighed in defeat. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t blot out the image of his handsome face. When she opened the door, it seemed as though some magic genie had read her mind and brought him to her.

“Ren?” she whispered, not quite sure he was real.

He meant to keep things businesslike. Make love to her, pay her fee, and leave. But she stood there looking so lost, so vulnerable, so beautiful, all he could do was pull her into his arms and bury his face in her hair.

“Lainey, God, I’ve missed you.”

He felt her sway against him, lace her fingers through his hair. Pulling her inside the room, he closed the door behind them, cupping her face in his hands, needing to touch her, wanting to feel the warmth of her body pressed against him. When he kissed her, he smelled the scent of jasmine, and hardened with desire.

Elaina meant to deny him, meant to send him away, but the pain in his voice when he whispered her name banished the last of her will. She kissed his lips, his cheeks, his eyes. Feeling his hands beneath her knees as he carried her to the bed, she clung to him as if she would never let him go. It was wrong what they were doing, wrong, but it seemed so right. He kissed her thoroughly, passionately, his lips seeking, searching every part of her mouth. His breath was hot and moist, sweet with the taste of his desire. His tongue thrust into her mouth possessively, branding her, telling her she was his and his alone. He left her lips to nibble the spot behind her ear; then he trailed fiery kisses along her throat. She was gasping for breath, battling the heat of desire that spread through her body.

“I want you,” he whispered thickly. Pulling the silk wrapper form between them, he lowered his lips to her breast. His tongue circled the hardened peak just before he surrounded the bud with his mouth. Mindlessly she moaned and arched against him.

He left her only long enough to shed his clothes and remove her robe, then he was beside her again. She could feel the corded muscles of his body, his sinewy thighs. She ran her fingers through the stiff black hair curling on his chest, and the muscles beneath rippled beneath her hand. With a soft groan, he called her name. His mouth claimed hers again—fiercely, passionately. Dear God, she wanted him. She ached with wanting him.

Sensing her need, he began to stroke her thighs, moving upward until he parted the soft flesh at the juncture of her legs and slid his fingers inside. Hot flames flicked across her skin as she moaned and writhed against his hand.

Feeling her readiness, he positioned himself above her, spreading her thighs with his knee.

“I need you, Lainey,” he whispered, so softly she almost didn’t hear him. The words filled her with joy. Nothing mattered but the feel of him, the touch of his hand. Nothing mattered but the two of them. Nothing mattered but loving him.

She clung to him as he entered, filling her and making her whole. Just as before, she felt complete, as if her soul had found its mate.

He held himself in check a moment, letting her feel the strength and power of his body. Then he began to move rhythmically inside her, each thrust stronger than the last. He plunged against her, his muscles tensed as he drove himself, carrying her along with him to the heights he was seeking. She met each thrust with one of her own and soon their bodies were covered with a fine sheen of perspiration.

She breathed in his virile male scent and felt the corded muscles of his buttocks beneath her hands. Then her mind emptied of all but the sensations of pleasure he was giving—timeless, endless, mindless pleasure. Pleasure so vivid she could taste it. Only when she moaned and cried his name, felt the tingling joy of climax, did he permit his own release.

As they spiraled down, he stayed within her, not wanting the delicious sensations to end. She felt warm lips against her neck, then a feather-soft kiss on her mouth. Even as he rolled away, he pulled her against him, as if he were afraid to let her go.

For the first time since her nightmare began, Elaina felt safe and protected. She almost dozed, so content was she, but soon she felt Ren’s warm palm move along her skin. She stirred as he cupped her bottom, felt his hardness and knew he was ready for her again.

Turning to face him, she let him begin his magic.

Chapter 16

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LAINA SMILED CONTENTEDLY
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