To Love a Stranger (11 page)

“I’ve been thinking,” Cully said, clearing his throat. “I oughta go with you tonight. I could be your lookout.”

“I appreciate your offer, Cully, but it’s too dangerous. You’re needed on the ranch. If I end up in jail, I don’t want to take you with me.”

Curiously, Zoey had little to say. She’d made a decision the night before, one she knew Pierce wouldn’t like. But this was her land, her problem. She’d involved Pierce in her problems by force. An unwilling participant. If he was going to place his life in jeopardy, she was going to be with him.

Pierce retired to his room early. He lay on his bed fully dressed. He dozed off and on until eleven-thirty, then rose, dressed in black shirt and denims he’d purchased in town, and quietly left the room. The house was silent as Pierce stole down the stairs. A quick glance at the bunkhouse before entering the barn assured him that all the lights were out and the men sleeping. He saddled a horse, walked it through the gate, then mounted up and rode off.

Zoey wasn’t far behind him, dressed in almost identical dark clothing. She was mounted and heading for town a scant ten minutes behind Pierce. She had scarcely cleared the gate when the bunkhouse door opened and a man stepped out. A few minutes later he rode through the gate and was swallowed up by darkness.

Pierce reached town right on schedule and paused to get his bearings. The only light came from the saloon, which appeared to be doing a lively business. He watched a drunk man stagger out of the saloon and meander down the street. He
reined his mount into the alley behind the bank.

On his previous visits to town, Pierce had noted that the bank was the sixth building from the corner. He found it with little trouble, dismounted, and tethered his horse to one of the iron bars covering the small office window. Removing his tools from his pocket, Pierce knelt and began fiddling with the lock.

Darkness aided Zoey as she trailed Pierce. When he reached town and turned in to the alley, she realized he was headed for the back street that ran behind the bank. Zoey entered the alley and lost herself in the shadows, where she had a good view of the street. Should danger threaten, she wanted to be in a position to warn Pierce. If all went well, he’d never know she had been there.

Pierce cursed the lock’s resistance. After ten minutes he’d begun to question his skill. Then he heard the lock give way. His breath left his lungs in a loud whoosh as he eased the door open and stepped inside. He lit a match and crept across the room to the file cabinet.

Hidden in the shadows, Zoey watched as a lone rider, his wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his forehead concealing his features, passed by the alley and continued down the street. She watched in trepidation until he turned a corner and dropped from sight. After ten minutes Zoey grew worried. Pierce should have completed his mission by now.

Suddenly two riders rounded a corner and headed in her direction. Zoey held her breath, hoping their destination was the saloon. When they stopped in front of the bank, her apprehension
grew. Peeking around the corner, Zoey knew real panic when she recognized Willoughby and the unidentified man who had entered town not ten minutes earlier.

Spurring her horse forward, Zoey raced around to the rear of the bank to warn Pierce of the danger. If he was found breaking into the bank, all hell would break loose. She saw his horse and knew he was still inside Willoughby’s office. She leapt from her mount and burst through the door. He blew out the match and jumped to his feet.

Her voice hissed through the darkness. “Pierce, Willoughby is at the front door. You’ve got to leave—now!”

“What in God’s name are you doing here?”

“There’s no time for that. Just get out of here before you’re discovered.”

Pierce spit out a curse. He hadn’t had time to pull the Fuller file from the cabinet, and it was too late now. He couldn’t let Zoey be found anywhere near the premises. Grasping her hand, he pulled her out the door and threw her atop her horse. “Get the hell out of here.” He slapped the horse’s rump. Zoey grabbed the reins as the animal surged forward.

“Aren’t you coming?” she called over her shoulder.

“In a minute.”

Closing the door carefully behind him, Pierce knelt and, plying the tool he used to break in, jiggled the lock until it fell back into place. And not a minute too soon. He was racing down the alley when a light went on in Willoughby’s office.

*    *    *

“There’s no one here,” Willoughby grouched. “You woke me from a sound sleep for nothing.”

“I tell you I followed them, boss. I saw them leave the Circle F.”

“You must have been dreaming.” Willoughby went to the door and tried the handle. The door was still locked. “Go on back before you’re missed. Next time you wake me up, it had better be for a good reason.”

Pierce and Zoey rode hell for leather back to the ranch. Once in the barn, Pierce ordered her into the house while he unsaddled and rubbed down their horses. Zoey went gladly, aware that Pierce was furious with her. She went upstairs immediately, hoping to reach her room before his temper exploded. She breathed a sigh of relief once she was safely inside with the door closed. She lit a lamp and started to undress. She didn’t think Pierce would follow her into her room.

She was wrong.

Minutes later the door slammed open. Zoey spun around, holding the shirt she’d just removed in front of her like a shield. Pierce stood in the doorway, his face a mask of rage … and something else she couldn’t decipher. She’d never seen that look before on his face.

“You little fool! What did you hope to gain by following me tonight?”

Zoey couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I saved your life … again.”

“That’s besides the point. Can’t you understand? I didn’t want to drag you into this. I didn’t want to endanger your life.”

“You didn’t have to drag me into this, this is my fight. It’s my land at risk. I forced you to involve yourself in my problems, but I didn’t ask you to die for me. I followed you because I wanted to help. And I did. If I hadn’t been there, you would have been discovered.”

Pierce’s eyes narrowed. “What in the hell do you suppose brought Willoughby to the bank that time of night?”

“Someone had to know about your plans,” Zoey guessed. “Someone from the ranch must have followed us. When I saw a rider enter town and disappear around a corner, I thought it was just a coincidence. Whoever it was, though, must have warned Willoughby.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m reasonably sure the man who rode into town minutes behind me was the same one who arrived with Willoughby. Do you think it could be one of our hands?”

“I’ll look into it in the morning.”

Pierce’s expression eased. He couldn’t describe how frightened he’d been when Zoey burst into Willoughby’s office. He couldn’t stop shaking all the way home. Now, seeing her safe, he wanted to take her into his arms, to crush her against him, to kiss her until she begged him to stop. God, he must be growing soft in the head. Is that what marriage did to a man?

Pierce walked into the room, halting scant inches from Zoey. His green eyes glittered like jewels as he took the shirt from her hands and tossed it aside. Her breasts rose and fell rapidly with the intake of her breath beneath the lacy barrier of the
camisole she wore. With shaking hands, Pierce reached out and released the ties, slowly easing the garment open and pushing it aside to reveal her breasts. He muttered something beneath his breath and gently touched her nipple with a fingertip.

Zoey inhaled sharply. His touch set off a firestorm inside her. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, feel the hard, arousing length of him impressed upon her skin. She wanted him to do all those things to her that husbands did to wives.

Pierce was experienced enough to know that Zoey wanted him, and he exulted in the knowledge. His hands curved around her breasts, molding them against his palms, caressing the nipples with the rough pads of his thumbs. Every muscle throbbed with need, screaming at him to lay her down, spread her legs, and thrust inside her. He wanted to take her fast and hard, deep and fierce, then ride her to his own release.

“Do you want me?” he whispered against her lips.

“It makes no difference what I want. I won’t give myself to a man who will leave me and never look back.”

An odd pain rippled through Pierce, a tightness that contracted and made his throat ache. He wouldn’t lie. “I can promise you nothing, love. I never wanted to be married. You saved my life, but regardless, I will leave once my debt is repaid in full. Neither of us expected more from this marriage. I’m only asking that you let me give you pleasure while I’m here.”

“What if you leave me with child?” The thought of carrying Pierce’s child was disturbing but not
unpleasant. Under any other circumstances she’d have loved to have Pierce’s baby.

His hard features softened, his eyes moving over her with something that might have been yearning. “I’ll try to prevent that from happening. Let me love you, Zoey.”

His lips came down hard upon hers, stealing away her protests and cries as he kissed her with searing fervor, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and exploring it with unleashed passion. He kissed her again and again, leaving her gasping and breathless. Then he dropped to his knees and took the swollen bud of one breast into his wet, warm mouth, drawing on her with exquisite tenderness. The stubble on his chin scraped the tender flesh of her ribs as he paid homage to the other breast.

Zoey’s knees grew weak and she would have collapsed but for Pierce’s strong hands holding her upright. Then she felt his hand between her legs, and acute embarrassment made her whimper. She knew she was damp there and hoped Pierce couldn’t feel it through her denims.

“Tell me you want me, love.”

Zoey wanted him, oh, yes, she wanted him. But letting him love her would make his leaving all the more painful. She couldn’t bear the thought of all those nights to come when she’d remember his loving and face the emptiness in her soul.

“Don’t do this to me. Ours isn’t a real marriage. I don’t want to know passion with you. You don’t love me and I … I don’t love you.”

Slowly Pierce’s hands dropped away. His face was contorted with anguish, his pain very real. He’d never taken a woman by force and he didn’t
intend to start now. He never doubted for a minute that Zoey would come to him on his terms before he left.

“You’re killing me. Are you sure?”

No, not sure at all, but it’s the way it has to be
. “Yes, very sure.”

Zoey could almost feel the pain in Pierce’s tormented body. Her pain was nearly as great. She turned away from him, pulling her camisole up to cover her breasts. She felt deep shame for giving Pierce so much of herself before stopping him. But his mouth on her had been so sweetly arousing. It had felt so right that she’d been momentarily distracted and unable to stop him. She’d always known Pierce wanted her sexually, for he’d never hid that from her. Tonight his seduction of her had been nearly accomplished. He was so sure of himself, so determined that she’d succumb to temptation. Fortunately she was made of sterner stuff than he gave her credit for.

Men like Pierce wanted sex without attachments. Pierce thought women were treacherous and untrustworthy. And she’d done nothing to change his mind. Railroading him into marriage served only to reinforce his low opinion of women.

Bringing her mental ruminations to a halt, Zoey turned to confront Pierce, surprised that he had already left.

Pierce paced the length of his room and back, too aroused to sleep. Suddenly nothing in his life made sense. Why did this woman, of all the women he’d known, move him in a way he hadn’t been moved in more years than he cared to count? Why did he
want Zoey more than he could ever recall wanting another woman? He wanted her sexually, he couldn’t deny that, but it went deeper than that. God, what was happening to him?

Whatever it was, he didn’t like it. He wasn’t going to leave until Zoey gave him what he wanted so he could purge her from his system. Soon his brothers would have the truth from Cora Lee and he’d be free to return to Dry Gulch, to the comfortable life he had led before meeting Zoey Fuller.

Abruptly Pierce’s gaze fell on the gift he had purchased in town for Zoey the same day he’d bought new clothing for himself. He’d intended to let her wear it long enough for him to admire her in it, then strip it off her and gently initiate her to passion. Suddenly he grew angry, angry at himself, at Zoey, at all females in general. He ought to give her the damn gift and let her do with it as she pleased.

Grabbing the package from the top of his bureau, he flung the door open and stormed down the hall to Zoey’s room. He burst inside without knocking. Zoey was seated at her dressing table, brushing her long blond hair. The breath caught in Pierce’s chest. He found the simple sight of Zoey brushing her hair somehow more erotic than if she had greeted him naked. Gaining his wits, he tossed the neatly wrapped package on the bed.

“I hoped we might enjoy this together, but I was mistaken. Consider it a wedding gift,” he flung out sarcastically.

He whirled on his heel and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

Zoey paused in midstroke, the brush poised in
her blond tresses. She eyed the package he’d tossed carelessly upon the bed with misgiving. She rose slowly, approaching the small package wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string as if she expected it to explode. She touched it gingerly, trying to decide if she should open it or return it sight unseen. Curiosity overcame her reservations.

Zoey opened the package with shaking hands, gasping in dismay and no little surprise when she drew out the loveliest nightgown she’d ever seen. She hadn’t even known such garments existed. It appeared to be made of cobwebs, all silvery and shimmery. She held it up to the light, and her breath caught when light filtered through its transparent folds. The demure high neck was deceptive, for nothing beneath it would be withheld from view. Three tiny buttons held it together at the bodice. The lower half was split from the waist down.