Naked Shorts (17 page)

James smiled. “Something like that.”

Irving nodded then looked back at him. “But what guarantee do I have that your offer is any better than Branson”s? Who says you won”t desert my daughter after you get the money?”

James pulled out two sheets of paper from his breast pocket and unfolded them.

“I had a contract written up which should satisfy you. It states that I will marry your daughter within one week of her arriving at my ranch, and, should I ever desert her, I will pay you damages in the amount of five thousand dollars.”

Irving”s mouth fell open. “Five thousand dollars?”

James nodded. He didn”t have five thousand dollars, but that wasn”t the point. Once he”d made Ellen his, he wouldn”t let her go. There”d never be a need to pay damages. James handed him the papers. They were identical, one copy for Irving, one for him.

Irving signed without hesitation. A smile curled around James” lips as he shook hands with his future father-in-law. “And not a word to her about any of this. All I am to her is the cowboy who”ll take her to Mr. Riley”s ranch.” And off her father”s hands.

By the way Irving grinned, James could fairly read his thoughts. He was relieved to be rid of her to say the least. “Ellen!” Irving hollered for her, his voice booming through the entire house.

James shook his head to himself. Sure, that was the way to make her submit. Did her father have no idea how to handle a wild one like her? A woman like her had to be treated like a wild horse - she needed a horse whisperer, and he knew just how to whisper to a woman like her. All close and low while he strummed her body like a well-tuned instrument.

The moment Ellen sailed into the parlor, it felt like a firestorm had entered. When her eyes set upon James, she showed her displeasure instantly.

“What do you want again? I told you yesterday that I”m not interested in your employer”s offer,” she hissed.

“Now, Ellen, where are your manners?” her father reprimanded her.

It had no effect on her. She pressed her lips together into a thin line. He knew of a surefire way of making those lips part, and not to spurt another insult at him either. Soon.

“May I?” James addressed Irving who nodded instantly. Then he diverted his full attention to Ellen. “Miss Irving, your father has decided that you will not marry Mr. Branson, but has instead accepted the offer of Mr. Riley on your behalf. I am charged with bringing you to Mr.

Riley”s ranch. We”re leaving at daylight.”

She first stared at him and then at her father, obviously unsure who to scream at first.

Temporarily speechless, she stomped the heel of her boot on the wood floor. James could virtually see the steam coming out of her ears and wondered how long she could keep her mouth shut before she would explode. Not long, it turned out.

Her voice was clipped when she finally spoke. “I have made my choice and that”s that.

Father, if you are so enamored with Mr. Riley, why don”t
you
marry him?”

Her head held high, she turned and strode out the door. James broke out in laughter. Damn, she had spunk. But still, if she”d shown him the kind of disrespect she showed her father, he”d have to paddle her ass. And she might even enjoy it.

***

She could spot a gambler a mile against the wind. During her time in the various schools she”d attended before she inevitably got expelled, she”d learned more about life outside of school than inside. Not only had she learned how to play cards, she”d learned how to spot a gambler and whether he was honest or not.

Nathanial Branson was not an honest gambler, which meant he fit the bill. Once her father realized what he was, surely he would see the error of his ways and let go of his stupid idea, apologize to her for putting her through this and let her just go on with her life.

Ellen had no interest whatsoever in Branson. Maybe he believed he was charming, but she wasn”t blind. The man was slimy at best. It hadn”t surprised her that her father didn”t want her to marry him, but she had not expected him to replace him so swiftly. And with Mr. Riley of all people. Mr. Riley who had sent his cowhand to do the bidding for him.

Which could only mean that the man himself was so butt-ugly that he couldn”t show himself for fear even her father would reject him.

The whole notion that her father would choose her husband for her was archaic. She wanted better. The few times she had actually attended school and enjoyed her lessons was when she”d read poetry. Shakespeare”s sonnets, Lord Byron”s poems.

That was what she wanted. A man who would write poetry for her, somebody who adored her, worshipped the ground she walked on. Not the dirty and unsophisticated farmers and ranchers whose only reading encompassed the almanac to see when to plant their crops or milk their cows.

Ellen wanted somebody who would appeal to her mind and her heart, not somebody who was merely looking for a woman to bear him children. She should have never come back home.

There was nothing here for her. She understood that now.

This cow town didn”t have the kind of man she was looking for. Her best chance at finding what she wanted was to return to the East Coast. She had a distant relative in Philadelphia, a cousin of her mother who she had spent one Christmas with in between schools. She would appeal to her for help.

She checked her little hiding place under her bed and found the leather purse with her money. There was a sufficient amount to see her through for a few months, including buying a railway ticket to Philadelphia. Her little extracurricular activities had earned her more than a little pocket money. Now it would provide her with a way out.

There was no time to lose. The closest railway station was a four hour ride north east. She was a decent rider, but she knew it would be risky to go under cover of night. No matter. She would have to risk it. With a bit of luck the full moon tonight would provide sufficient light for her to find her way. She couldn”t wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow Riley”s cowhand would force her to go with him with her father”s approval.

No, she had to leave tonight. And she had to wait until after supper, so her father wouldn”t suspect anything, and she would get a few hours” head start before he realized she was missing and could send somebody after her.

Ellen asked Maggie to arrange for an early supper under the pretense that she had a headache and was tired. Her father didn”t seem to mind, obviously counting his blessings that she would soon be married to Mr. Riley. She excused herself as soon as supper was over and retired to her room.

Everything was ready. She had only packed what she could fit into two saddlebags.

Impatiently, she waited for the house to quiet down. There was still light in the parlor, but Maggie had cleaned up the kitchen and retired. Her father had probably fallen asleep in his chair.

It was now or never.

The stairs creaked noisily when she crept down into the foyer and left through the kitchen door into the yard. It was quiet, and the ground absorbed her footsteps. She glanced over her shoulder back to the house, but nobody followed her.

She exhaled sharply as soon as she entered the barn. Once she”d saddled her horse, she”d be ready. Her hand reached for the lamp, and she lit it. The dim light illuminated enough.

Ellen let loose a high shriek before a hand clamped down over her mouth.

“Now, now. We don”t want to alert anybody to what you”re doing, do we?”

The shocked look on Ellen”s face was priceless. James would have laughed had he not felt the need for silence in order not to wake the entire ranch.

“Ellen -. May I call you Ellen?” he asked without taking his hand from her mouth. “It appears that you are so anxious to make Mr. Riley”s acquaintance that you can”t wait until we leave tomorrow. I anticipated this, and since you”re ready to leave, we might as well get on our way. Shall we?”

When he”d seen the way she”d responded to her father earlier today, he”d known she was up to something. Escape seemed a logical reaction. He would have been disappointed if she hadn”t tried to get away.

“I”m going to let go of your mouth now, but I warn you, you scream and I”m going to have to muffle you, so please don”t try my patience.”

Her wide eyes watched him as he slowly lifted his hand off her lips. She instantly opened them and took a breath, before her voice came back.

“You -”

She didn”t get any further. James had already cut her off by pressing his lips onto hers in a hard kiss. Her hands came up to fight against him, but he grabbed her by the wrists and restrained her.

This wasn”t how he”d imagined kissing her for the first time, but it was the most effective way of shutting her up. And while he was at it, no use wasting a perfectly good opportunity to taste that sharp tongue of hers.

He stroked his tongue over her closed lips, coaxing her to part them, but the little firecracker kept her mouth firmly closed. Fine - he had other methods of making her comply. He dropped one of her wrists and snaked his arm around her waist, before his hand clamped down on her round ass and jerked her toward him.

A startled yelp was her answer. As Ellen gulped for air, her lips opened but a sliver, and he inhaled her breath. Lord, she was sweet. He stroked against her lips again and hovered at the entrance to her enticing cave.

“Kiss me,” he whispered against her mouth. He wanted her to come to him, rather than take from her. He ground his hardening cock against her belly and felt her gasp. “Kiss me,” he rasped,

“and do it before I take over and do it my way. Believe me, you don”t want me to -”

Ellen”s lips softened, and her tongue suddenly brushed against his. Again and again she stroked against him, teased him, played with him. Darn, the woman could kiss. She was no innocent, not the way she tangled her tongue with his and coaxed him to invade the delicious caverns of her mouth.

He”d known she”d be passionate, full of fire, full of - fuck! He pulled back in pain and put his hand on his mouth. Ouch!

James stared at her in disbelief. The hot little darling had bitten him! And now she grinned at him with glee. He”d definitely underestimated her.

“Serves you right, you brute.”

With an acid look, she tried to rush past him, but pain or not, he was faster and held her back in a tight grip. “You”d have to do a lot more than bite me to get rid of me.”

Her stunned look soothed his aching mouth slightly. She wasn”t getting away from him, and she”d just realized it. “Good. I”ve saddled your horse, but for now you”re riding with me, until I”m sure you”re not going to try to run. And if you try to scream, I”ve got other methods of keeping you quiet - and kissing is only the beginning.”

Ellen”s eyes widened. “You can”t just kidnap me.”

“I can, and I will.”

As he led her to the saddled horses, he watched her dart looks around the barn, obviously looking for anything to hit him over the head with. He tightened his grip on her and urged her forward.

“Up,” he ordered her to mount his horse, and gave her a slap onto her ass as she lifted herself up. She turned and glared at him. He picked up her saddlebags and put them over the other horse”s saddle, then swung himself up behind her.

James pulled her flush against his body, instantly liking the feel of her soft curves pressing into him. Snaking his hand around her waist, he reached for the reins of the horse.

A few minutes later they were outside, riding northwest, the two other horses trailing along, led by extended reins James had tied to his saddle horn. James” second horse carried the supplies he”d purchased in town, and Ellen”s horse was saddled, but riderless.

“We”re far enough away. You can talk now,” James said.

Her back stiffened, and he tried to ease her back toward him. “What if I don”t want to talk?”

He chuckled. “You just did.”

Ellen made a disapproving snorting noise. Quite unladylike but not without charm. And then she let loose.

“You brute! What do you think you gain by kidnapping me? Do you know I could have you hanged for this? Wait until the sheriff gets wind of this! You”re going to pay for dragging me off against my will. My father will -”

“Your father will do nothing,” he cut her off, keeping his voice even. “If you recall, he authorized me to take you to Mr. Riley, who is going to marry you. I have a signed contract right here in my pocket. Now, if you”d relax back into the saddle, we”d both be more comfortable.”

“I”ll do nothing of the sort. How dare you treat me like this? Let me go now.”

She tried to push his arm away, but he kept it tight around her waist. With the other he tied the reigns around the saddle horn. With his second hand now free, he forced her back against his chest.

“I can”t do that. Mr. Riley and your father have agreed that you”ll marry him. I”m just following orders.”

She pushed against his restraining arms, but he didn”t give an inch. “Oh yeah? Did Mr. Riley also order you to kiss me? What do you think he”s going to do when he finds out, huh?”

So this was how she was trying to wiggle her way out. It played right into his hands. “Mr.

Riley is a possessive man. Not sure you”d want to tell him things like that,” James hedged, chuckling inwardly.

That seemed to shut her right up. “Now, while we”re all snuggled up here, why don”t you tell me a little why you”re so dead against getting hitched.”

“None of your darn business. And we wouldn”t be all snuggled up here - as you call it - if you”d let me ride my own horse.” The defiance was clear in her voice.

“And let you escape? I might be a cowboy, but I wasn”t born yesterday, darlin”.”

“I would appreciate it if you didn”t take such liberties, calling me darling.”

James grinned and moved his head to her cheek, rubbing his evening stubble against her soft skin. “I”ll call you anything I like, and darlin” suits me just fine. Given that we”ll be spending the next three nights together all on our own before we reach the ranch, I think darlin” is highly appropriate.”