The Wicked West (6 page)

“Tom,” a woman sobbed over him.

“Lily,” he tried to answer, but his tongue was too thick.

“My poor little girl will be a widow now.”

But Lily was already a widow, so that made no sense. His confusion drifted away, replaced by soft thoughts. He had a new idea of how he’d like to have Lily the next time he saw her. Something totally unnatural and sinful that she’d probably love. But wait…He’d be dead the next time he saw her.

“Shit,” he muttered.

“Tom?”

Lily didn’t call him Tom, didn’t even know his first name as far as he could tell. Which was fine, because he didn’t like being called Tom anymore. Only Marie’s family called him Tom now, and…

Oh, now it made sense. It was his mother-in-law leaning over him, jostling his belly with every movement. Jesus Christ, couldn’t he at least die without Marie’s memory prodding him like a white-hot poker?

“Celia!” a voice barked. “Get the hell out of here.”

“But he’s—”

“You’re getting blood on your Sunday dress.”

The heavy weight lifted abruptly off his chest.

“Now, get on out of here so I can take a look.”

Hale lifted his heavy eyes and saw the red tip of Doc’s nose. Hopefully it was early and the man hadn’t been drinking yet.

A ripping sound tore through the air, and if the accompanying pain was any indication, Doc was tearing his skin wide open. Hale roared.

“Shirt was dried on,” Doc explained without a hint of sympathy in his voice. His fingers set off another explosion of agony.

“You sadist,” Hale hissed. “Let me die in peace.”

More poking and prodding. Hale felt hands holding him down, only vaguely aware of Brady’s worried voice. The light went gray, but Doc’s shout managed to travel through the din. “You ain’t dying, you pussy.”

“What?”

“Get him some water.” Rough fingers pried open one of Hale’s eyes. He flinched from the light. “You lost a lot of blood, and your side’s as wide open as a whore’s legs, but your guts are intact.”

“H-how?”

“Bullet broke your rib. I bet it hurts like a bitch, too. Every time you move, the broken ends rub together. But it stopped the bullet and bounced it right into your arm. You’ll be fine.”

“Really?” He knew that was important, though he couldn’t muster up anything more than idle curiosity at this point.

“Sure. Long as gangrene don’t set in, of course. Now, hold your breath. I’m going to wash this bitch out with whiskey. You ready?”

Hale wasn’t, but the blast of pain came, anyway.

Hours had passed since they’d taken him inside. Lily’s palms were gouged with nail marks, her feet sore from pacing.

He’d been shot, she knew that. And he’d looked dead to the people who’d seen him dragged into town. But he couldn’t be dead. Or could he?

The doctor had stayed for nearly an hour before leaving. Lily had rushed out to stop him, but he’d muttered something about gossiping hens and brushed past her without answering.

She’d been relegated to the same level of information as the rest of the general public. Those few people who could count themselves close to Sheriff Hale were locked inside with him. Lily was not.

At the very start of their affair, she’d promised not to so much as greet him on the street, but that seemed a distant and meaningless pledge now. He might be dead. He might be dying. What if she was missing the chance to say farewell? To tell him what a good man he was and how much comfort he’d brought her in this country of strangers?

And she was so afraid. If he died, how could she live with the knowledge that his warm, powerful body had been reduced to dust? That his hard brown eyes would never soften with a smile again?

A sob rose up and snuck past her control. Lily brushed the tears away and walked to her door. She could pass for a nosy neighbor. His friends wouldn’t guess the truth.

Clutching a crumpled handkerchief in her fist, Lily slipped out her front door. The sun hung low in the sky. Perhaps she should wait until dark so the rest of the town wouldn’t see her standing at his door. He’d want her to wait, but what if he didn’t last that long?

That kind of regret would be too much to bear, so she set her chin high and stepped calmly down to the street. He was her next door neighbor. Of course she was concerned.

A young man opened the door, his face slack with exhaustion.

“I hoped to…I’m Mrs. Anders, the sheriff’s neighbor. I hoped to see him.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. Sheriff Hale isn’t up to visitors right now.” A star glinted against his shirt, making clear his relationship to the sheriff.

“I know. It’s only that…I’m so concerned. H-he was shot?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“May I come in?”

His face crumpled a bit. He could hardly say no to a woman standing on the threshold, but he didn’t want to violate Sheriff Hale’s trust, either.

“Thank you,” she said presumptively, prompting him to open the door to her with clear hesitation.

She hurried past him but didn’t stop at the parlor. Ignoring her pretense of being merely a concerned neighbor, Lily raced up the stairs, the young man’s boots thundering after.

“Ma’am, he can’t be disturbed! And he’s not decent!” A muttered curse followed, but he was polite enough that it didn’t actually reach her ears.

She couldn’t
not
see the sheriff, not when he was so close.

“Ma’am!”

Panting, she reached the top of the stairs and careened around the corner and into his bedroom. “Oh, God.” Her feet stumbled at the sight of him, nearly tossing her to the floor. He was so pale, as colorless as the bandages wrapped around the width of his chest. His lips were dry and cracked. His eyes sunken behind the lids. But his chest still rose and fell. Too rapidly for good health it seemed, but he
lived.

“Sheriff?” she breathed.

His eyes fluttered open. They shut again quickly, but he whispered “Lily” in a hoarse voice.

Some coil wrapped around her heart sprang open. She rushed forward and clasped his hand. “Oh, I was so worried.”

“Uh, Sheriff?” The deputy’s voice tightened all the muscles in her back. Would Sheriff Hale insist she leave now? Would he be horrified she’d betrayed their secret?

He shook his head, his brown hair tangling against the pillow. “It’s fine, Brady. Leave her be. You’d best see to your wife now.”

“But you’re not to be left alone,” the man argued.

His eyes opened, the pupils slowly contracting until they focused on her. “Mrs. Anders will look after me.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” When the deputy received no answer, he eventually relented and walked back down the stairs. Lily waited to hear the front door open and close before she let herself collapse, pressing her forehead to his knuckles.

“Lily, it’s all right.”

“You were shot! That’s all I know. Are you…Will you…”

“Doc says I’ll live if infection doesn’t set in. He cleaned out the wound pretty damn thoroughly,” he added dryly.

“Oh, God,” she moaned. “Oh, thank God. I thought you were dying. I know I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry. But I couldn’t bear not knowing.”

“I’m pleased my death might be so distressing.”

Tears were her only response. She couldn’t speak, not even to scold him for being so cavalier.

“Hush, Lily,” he said as she sobbed.

So she hushed. She choked back her tears and raised her head to swipe at her eyes. “I’m sorry. Do you think Deputy Brady will talk? Perhaps we can tell him I used to be a nurse of sorts.”

He shook his head, but she had no idea what he meant. “When I was at death’s door—or not at death’s door, apparently—it occurred to me that this was wrong.”

She took a deep breath. So he would end it. He’d probably seen God or some such thing, and now he would end his visits. But that was all right. He was alive, so she could live with his distance. Still, her heart squeezed in protest.

“I respect you,” he said, and she nodded. “And I’d like permission to court you openly, Mrs. Anders.”

Lily blinked. “Court me?”

“Yes. Don’t look so panicked.”

She tried to school her face as she slipped her fingers from his grasp. “But I thought I was clear…”

“You were, but I’ve something to add to that now. We’re both adults. You’re a widow and I’m…Well, I’m still married. No one would be surprised at a long and careful courtship. I don’t think our visits are the only thing between us. There’s more.”

Fear scrabbled through her chest. She’d always belonged to a man, and she’d only just started to become her own person. Yet she cared for him so much already.

Lily drew in a deep breath, then found herself blurting out the truth. “I do not wish to be ruled over! It makes no sense, I suppose, considering my other interest in you, but…this life, this new life on my own…I am
enjoying
it.”

Despite her bold words, Sheriff Hale smiled. “I won’t rule you, Lily. Except where you need me to. And once I sue for divorce, it’ll be at least a year, maybe two before it’s finished. Two years to see if there is more between us. Don’t you think that’s fair?”

Two years. Her heart floated up, a strange sensation considering that it was shaking with terror.

His eyes, those brown eyes she’d feared would be cloudy with death, they softened and warmed as he watched her. “I’m not looking for a pledge, Mrs. Anders. Just a chance. A chance to be myself with you, and to offer the same to you, independent as you may be.”

Independent. Her heart stilled its fluttering and floated back down to earth. Independent. Yes. Another layer she’d added.

Independent and fascinating and smart enough to know a good man when she met one. Lily took a deep, deep breath. “All right, then. A chance. With you.”

She reached for his hand again and held it gently as he sunk back into sleep, a smile playing over his normally somber mouth.

A woman being courted by a hard and handsome sheriff…That would be an excellent layer, indeed.

“Sheriff,” the schoolmarm said, nodding her head politely as she paused in the street to greet them. “Mrs. Anders.”

Lily clutched his arm tighter and smiled. “Miss Heath,” she answered. “I enjoyed your playing at the Sunday social.”

The tall woman smiled with pleasure. “Why, thank you. What an honor to hear from a woman of your refined tastes.”

“No more refined than yours, I’m sure. I’m so happy to know we have the same interest in literature. Be sure to stop in again next week. I’ve a new shipment I’m eager to show you.”

“I will! And may I say again how thrilling it is to have such a gentling influence in our town. I’m so glad you decided to stay.”

Lily nodded and let Sheriff Hale turn her and lead her on.

“Don’t speak to anyone else,” he muttered.

“But I must be polite.”

“That’s an order, Lily.”

Heart skipping several beats, Lily pressed her lips together and quickened her step to keep up with Sheriff Hale’s faster stride.

“You’ve been teasing me all day,” he growled, and he was right. She’d kept her eyes on the ground and licked her lips and murmured “Yes, sir” when no one else was close enough to hear it. But she was sure that the pretty black ribbon she’d tied around her neck had most distracted him. It matched the trim on her new dress, but that wasn’t why she’d worn it. He’d stared at her throughout the entire picnic.

“Don’t bother going to the bedroom. You’ll head straight to the kitchen, you understand?”

Lily’s sex clenched hard, sending thrills spiraling up her belly. Did he mean what she thought he meant? “Are you—”

“I told you to be quiet.”

When Preacher Smith called out a hello from the door of the mercantile, Lily waved and kept her lips tightly closed.

“Good girl.”

Her entire body burned with arousal. By the time her foot touched her porch step, Lily found that she was nearly running. She hurried toward the kitchen, chased by the sound of the sheriff shutting the door…and bolting it.

“Take off that dress
now.
”

“Yes, sir.”

As soon as she had it unbuttoned to the waist, Sheriff Hale jerked down the bodice and trapped her arms. “You knew what that ribbon would do to me, didn’t you?” His hands yanked at the ties of her corset. “You think you can tease me like that and get away with it?”

“No, Sheriff,” she answered honestly. The ribbon looked just like the black silk ties he’d used once on her wrists.

“Well, you might not be obedient, but at least you’re smart.” The corset loosened its grip on her ribs. Before she could even draw a deep breath, he’d spun her around and pressed her back to the timber column that supported the ceiling of the kitchen. Her arms were caught at her sides, but Lily squeezed her fists tight in hot anticipation.

The sheriff tugged hard at the top of the corset, pulling down until her breasts were exposed. He kissed her finally, covering both her breasts with his calloused hands, scraping his fingers over her sensitive nipples. His mouth sucked at her bottom lip as she shuddered. Suddenly, he pinched both nipples hard.

“Little whore,” he whispered as she sobbed. “Is this what you’ve been wanting?”

She nodded, and he pinched harder. “Yes. Yes, please.”

“I’ve been hard half the day because of you.”

“I’m sorry.”

He bit her lip. “Liar. You love it.”

Oh, she did. She loved it. He pulled away to undo the rest of her buttons and tug her dress down. Her arms were free, but not for long. Not for long…

He grabbed one of her wrists and tugged it behind the column. “Give me the other.” She did so gladly, and soon she was securely bound and completely helpless. Sheriff Hale strolled around, his gaze taking in her upthrust breasts and panting mouth. Without warning, he reached out and yanked her petticoat hard enough to tear the hooks off. It pooled on the floor.

“That’s better.” She wore no drawers and her short shift barely covered her sex. Cool air touched her thighs above her stockings. He put his hand to her jaw and pushed her head to the side so that he could run his tongue down her neck all the way to the black ribbon meant to call attention to the delicate length of her neck. He bit her there, and Lily struggled against him, only because he liked it.

“It’s too late to reconsider now,” he whispered before he straightened and let her go. “I’m going to make you scream.” He was still fully dressed, wearing even a coat and tie today. He left those on and began to unbutton his trousers.

“Please,” she begged, and Sheriff Hale grinned so widely that she blinked in shock.

“Oh, it’ll be my pleasure, ma’am.”

Fifteen minutes later, Lily was slumped, exhausted and sore, on the floor of her kitchen, while the good sheriff tugged at the knotted rope he’d tied a little too well. “I’m sorry, darlin’,” he muttered, his soft words a complete contrast to the way he’d spoken earlier. And suddenly, Lily knew. She knew without a doubt. She loved him.

Over the past few months she’d discovered so many sides of herself. Likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. Enough layers that she could add one more without worrying that it might weigh her down: one day soon she would happily become the respectable wife of Sheriff Tom Hale. And in the privacy of their home, she’d be his very unrespectable whore.

The ropes came free, her hands tingled back to life, and Lily leaned her head against the column and smiled.