Wild Lilly (10 page)

Feeling like a cad, Paul set down the sanding block. He didn’t want Rufus to know that was exactly what he wanted to happen. His gut clenched again at the thought of Lilly leaving for good, but he tried to ignore it. Freedom was what he wanted, not boredom and some clingy wife who would want to laze the days away doing needlework and moaning about the lack of good society on the frontier.

“’Sides, I thought you swore off society women after what that woman in Boston did to you.”

Paul fought the surge of anger at the mention of Matilda Humphries. When he was seventeen, and before his parents had been killed, his sister had married well, back in Boston. At her wedding, Paul had been overwhelmed by all the beautiful women in attendance. There were very few single women in Caldwell and being around all those stunning females, who fawned attention on him had quickly gone to his head. He didn’t realize then that they were only paying him attention because they wanted to get closer to his sister.

Rufus shifted in his worn boots. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Miss Brooks is different.”

Sable-haired with lovely dark eyes, Matilda had entranced him with her quiet demeanor and refined grace. She had surprised him by singling him out from all the available men and lavishing her attention on him. Stupid, blind with puppy love, he had failed to see that she strung several men along in the same manner, playing them off each other with a skill any general would have admired.

“Maybe.” Paul tried to unclench his fists. He had asked Matilda to marry him and move out West while they were at a picnic with her friends. With all his heart, he wished he could reverse time and take those words back. At first, when he’d presented her with a ring, he mistook her shock for happiness. His hopes were soon dashed when she started rolling on the ground and laughing. In between giggles, she’d told him that she could never marry some ignorant cowboy and move out to some savage, uncivilized land. And that he was stupid and uncouth to think that a woman like her would ever consider a man like him.

Rufus sighed and socked him in the arm, breaking him out of his dark thoughts. At the piercing sound of a whistle, they both looked up. Mark waved from the roof and pointed at Lilly’s roundabout, kicking up dust on the road to the school. Her golden curls spilled out from her cream bonnet, complementing the lilac dress that hugged her pert breasts.

Mouth firming into a narrow line, he decided to step up his game. Lee Krisp was going to start playing hardball soon, and it was better for everyone if he got the land off of Lilly and sent her packing where Krisp couldn’t reach her, back home with her kind of people, where she belonged.

His heart and soul protested that maybe she belonged here, with him, but the memory of Matilda’s scorching laughter still haunted him. Unbuttoning his shirt, he wiped the sawdust off his hands and started for the front of the schoolhouse.

***

Lifting the brake on the carriage, Lilly stared at the school. A couple of men were on the roof nailing on new shingles, while another group put a fresh coat of white paint over the new boards on the walls. Anger still simmered in the back of her head, but the ride out to the school had given her time to think.

She tried to firm her resolve as she waved to Mark, perched on the roof like a gargoyle. When she saw Paul, she would calmly thank him for the work on the schoolhouse, followed by a rational discussion with him about Estrella. Yes, a nice talk between two adults about what was considered unacceptable behavior. And if that didn’t work, she would kick him between the legs as hard as she could.

Searching for Paul’s broad shoulders and black Stetson, she spotted him coming around from the back of the building. Her eyebrows flew up and her mouth dropped, trying to drink all of him in at once. He wore his usual hat, and his usual pants and leather chaps, but he was not wearing his usual shirt. Or any shirt for that matter.

The sun gleamed off the sweat on his chest and shoulders, bronzed skin slick and inviting. Her breath came out in a long sigh and she appreciated the smooth expanse of his hard muscle and sinew, trailing down to the ridges of his taut stomach. She could use his abdomen as a washboard for her shift. While she was still wearing it.

He appeared not to notice her flabbergasted expression. “Good afternoon, Lilly. Please excuse my appearance. I wasn’t expecting you here today. I hoped to surprise you when this was done on Monday.” His deep voice stroked over her like velvet.

“Oh.” It was the most intelligent thing she could come up with. His small nipples puckered beneath her gaze, and a light dusting of dark hair started below his belly button and led into his pants. Her mind tried to keep hold on her anger, but it was buried under the approving purr of her body.

“Lilly?”

“What?”

“Are you all right?”

“Huh?”

His smile turned into a smirk as her attention skittered back his chest again, following the tantalizing line of hair. “Lilly.”

“Huh?”

“My eyes are up here, sweetheart.”

She blushed ten different shades of red. “Oh, um, yes, sorry.” She decided the school was a safer placed to look. Otherwise, she was going to continue to make a fool of herself. “Paul, this is fantastic, but you didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

He shrugged his powerful shoulders. The muscles did a wonderful dance that drew her eyes back to his exposed physique like a magnet. “I wanted to use the money to make you happy. I figured you were tired of falling through the floor of the schoolhouse.”

Her treacherous body took control and leaned toward him. Breathing in the scent of his musk, she lightly placed her lips on his and claimed his mouth in a long, drugging kiss. She desperately wanted to take her gloves off and run her hands over his exposed skin, to feel his strength in the palm of her hand.

A bunch of loud catcalls and whistles made her pull back with a deep blush, but he smiled at her happily and yelled, “Back to work! Show’s over.”

The embarrassment cleared her mind and she stepped back from him. “You and I have something to discuss.”

Arching a brow, he studied her. “What is it?”

Several workers watched them, not even pretending to work. Narrowing her eyes at them, she grabbed Paul’s hand and tugged him closer to the stand of trees and out of earshot of the men. The thought of Estrella running her hands over Paul’s body made her angry, and she pulled him further away. She wanted to be able to yell at him.

Beneath the shade of an oak tree, she spun on her heel and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. An image of Estrella’s large chest flashed through her mind, and she had to resist the urge to cover her much smaller ones.

“I went shopping in town today,” she said and watched him closely.

“All right. What does that have to do with you being mad at me?”

“What makes you think I’m mad at you?”

Paul rolled his eyes. “Well, I may not be an expert on women, but you don’t look like you pulled me over here to steal a kiss.”

“I bet you’ve stolen a lot of kisses with Estrella,” she hissed at him. Another image flashed through her mind: Paul kissing Estrella and stroking his tongue in her mouth.

His face closed down and he mirrored her stance by crossing his arms over his chest. “What I’ve done with Estrella is none of your business. And who told you about her?”

Seething, she gripped her elbows and tried to remain calm. Beneath the anger, hurt blossomed and she bit her lip. “I met her on the street today while I was shopping. It’s always a lovely way to start the day when a whore tells me to leave her man alone.”

“She did what?” His arms sagged down and he hooked his thumbs in his pockets.

Turning her back, she dashed away a tear. Extreme emotions always made her cry, and she didn’t want him to think her tears of anger were a result of hurt feelings. The sadness and disappointment that filled her had nothing to do with her tears.

“I don’t think we should see each other anymore, Mr. McGregor.” The words hurt coming out, but not as much as the realization that he was not at all the man she thought he was.

A large hand rested on her shoulder and she flinched out of his grip. “Don’t touch me. Do you have any idea what it feels like to know that one minute you’re kissing me, and the next you’re with that woman? Thank God you didn’t come to me with the stink of her cheap perfume on you.”

With his eyes closed, Paul took a deep breath and dropped his arm from her shoulder. “Lilly—”

“Don’t call me Lilly,” she argued in a thick voice, wiping away more tears.

“Miss Brooks,” he amended, still talking with his eyes closed. “Estrella was my mistress. I haven’t seen her since the day I kissed you.”

Estrella’s earlier statement about Paul not seeing her anymore matched up with his words and Lilly felt a tiny bit better. A very tiny bit. “I can’t believe you actually slept with that harlot.”

Now, his eyes did open and flashed with anger. “In case you haven’t noticed, there aren’t many women out here. Estrella may be a dance-hall girl, but she’s still a decent woman. I won’t have you insulting her.”

Eyes wide, she gaped at him. “Insulting her? She threatened my life if I continued to see you and I’m insulting her?” The last part came out in a screech and Paul darted a glance behind her to the workers.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it. She just has a very jealous nature and a hot temper.” His shoulders slumped a bit. “Look. I promise that as long as you want me, I won’t be with anyone but you.”

While his words made her heart feel better, her head was still plenty mad. “What about Estrella? Won’t she be missing you?”

“No, she’ll get over it and find someone new to support her. It’s not like we were in love.”

She snorted at that statement. He might not love Estrella, but she was sure Estrella loved him. A pang of guilt lanced through her, but she tried to brush it aside.

“Lilly, I never lied to you,” he continued in a quiet voice. “I really like you, and I hope you like me.” He took a cautious step toward her and brushed his rough fingers over her arm. “Please give me another chance.”

His palm stroked up her arm and over her shoulder, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. She couldn’t think when he was touching her. Regardless of what a mess they were emotionally, physically he felt like her perfect match.

“No more lies,” she whispered as his thumb stroked her cheek and brushed away a tear.

“No more lies,” he agreed. Before she could question the look that flashed across his face, his lips brushed against hers and she sighed. Cupping her face in both hands, he kissed her gently and ran his tongue over her lips. The tip of his nose rubbed against hers and her breath came out in a soft shudder.

Casting a quick glance at the workmen, he pulled her deeper into the trees. They stopped behind the wide base of a tall elm tree. She fought a smile and tugged on his arm. “Paul, they can still see us!” He started to pull away and she gripped the hard muscles of his biceps, jerking him back to her as she wet her lower lip with a swift sweep of her tongue.

“I don’t care,” he growled against her lips.

The vibration teased her and traveled a path down her body, stiffening her nipples into deliciously tender points, and ending between her thighs in a pounding heat. His mouth claimed hers and he sucked and bit on the tender flesh of her lower lip.

She went limp in his arms, undone by the passion of his kiss. With jerky movements, she pulled off her gloves and gave into temptation, running her hands against the velvet-covered steel of his bare shoulders. This time she groaned into his mouth as their tongues curled and slipped past each other. He smelled like sunshine and heat, a delicious scent that was totally male.

He used his body to block any sight of them from the workers and slipped a hand past her ribcage, capturing a pert breast and gently squeezing. She gasped and he ate the sound from her lips. The rough bark of the tree scraped against her back as she gave herself over to the sensations he produced in her. Skilled fingers rubbed and shaped her breast, deepening the throb in her pussy. He leaned down and gently bit the side of her neck, licking his way lower.

He stopped with a harsh breath and leaned against her. His erection pressed tight into her, even through the layers of her petticoats. She crushed her hips to his, ran her nose along his collarbone, and gave his chest a small lick. He tasted salty and delicious.

“Why did you stop?” she asked in a plaintive whisper.

“Because you’re driving me crazy. If I don’t stop now, I’m not going to be able to resist pulling down your dress, exposing those stiff little nipples, and feasting on them until you scream my name,” he breathed against her ear.

“Oh.”

He chuckled, the vibrations doing scandalous things to her sense of modesty. “Oh, indeed.” He pulled away and gazed at her. The heat in his eyes burned through her body, and settled into her soul. No one had ever looked at her like that, and no one had ever made her feel so desired.

She wondered if he ever looked at Estrella like that and her desire cooled at the bitter taste of jealousy.

Sensing her shift in mood, he stepped back and took a deep breath, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Thank you for stopping by, Lilly. And thank you for giving me another chance.”