Jodi Thomas - The Lone Texan

"No," she mumbled, remembering how it had hurt when he'd entered her. Everything about the loving had been so perfect except the moment he'd shoved into her. "No," she said, trying to push him away so she could return to sleep.

"Hush, love," he whispered. His hands were moving over her most private places as if her body belonged to him. "You're ready for me now. Go back to sleep. I'm just going to take my pleasure one more time. You're mine tonight, remember.”

She couldn't seem to pull fully awake. Hours without sleep and then hours of having her blood rushing through her body as he pleased her again and again had left her too weak to shake from dreams.

He pulled her arms above her head and moved his warm hands down the length of her. He knew her body well by now and proved it. "Dream, love. Just dream while I take you, for I have to have you again.”

Before she could answer, she felt him slide into her without pain, then he was moving above her, pushing harder and harder. The familiar fire she'd felt in her belly kindled, and she rocked with him, taking him deeper, loving the way her blood warmed and spread out into her limbs.

His hands came up her sides and gripped her tender breasts as he cried out with pleasure just as she felt like she rolled off the end of the earth. He jerked and pushed into her one last time as she took flight.

For a while she floated as his warm body blanketed her. She floated between heaven and earth, unable to move or speak.

He didn't rise and wash her flesh as he had the first time. He simply rolled with her until she lay across him, too spent to move.

He cupped her bottom with one hand and moved his chin against her cheek. "Go back to sleep” he ordered. "You're mine tonight. All mine. I plan to touch you while you sleep, if you've no objection.”

She made a little sound, agreeing to his request, and he kissed her lips, now swollen from being kissed.

"I like the feel of you," he said as he patted her bottom. "Thank you.” she whispered.

"Did you feel the storm?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered and felt his arms tighten. "And it was a thousand times more than I thought it would be.”

She felt his laughter against her chest.

"The night is not over yet.” His mouth explored her throat. "Sleep. I'll wake you again before dawn."

She didn't answer; she was already asleep.

SAGE WAS STARTING TO LOSE TRACK OF TIME. SHE thought it was the fourth day when they camped at the edge of a canyon, but it might have been five. The air felt dry here, and the wind whistled as if whining along canyon walls. As the outlaws had every night, they tied her to whatever they could find that would hold her secure.

But tonight was different. She could hear the man building a fire, establishing a regular camp for the first time. She guessed they thought it safe.

The man who brought her food was one who'd never spoken to her before. She thought he was one of the two men who'd been with them when they left Shelley's, then they'd disappeared for a day and rejoined the gang. The two newcomers kept their distance and usually brought up the tail, but tonight they'd decided to move in closer, probably because of the fire.

He didn't seem as hard as the others, but his eyes were still cold and uncaring. There was a wildness about him, as if a thrill to him was worth any price. He untied her hands but left the rope around her waist holding her to a stump. The noose now hung permanently around her neck so any one of them could pull her along without having to get so close she might kick. The rough rope was loose enough for her to breathe but too tight for her to tug it off.

"Thought you might want a real meal. Got rabbit and beans." She smelled whiskey on the man's breath, but that was better than the smell of Frog.

She nodded, trying to see anything around her that would give her a hint of where she was.

He handed her a tin bowl and a cup half-full of boiled coffee. "These men ain't going to hurt you none” the stranger said. "They told me so. They're just taking you to the leader, then you'll be let go, I figure." He didn't look like he believed his own words.

She would argue with that statement, but it would do her no good. Every bone in her body hurt from riding all day tied in a saddle and then sleeping at night tied up. If she didn't walk fast enough when they stopped, the big man liked to jerk the rope hard enough to make her stumble. She doubted any one of the other men had noticed. For the most part, she wasn't their problem.

When she finished eating, she thanked the man.

He hesitated. "Anything else I can do?" he whispered, then looked like he was sorry he'd offered.

"Could I have a comb before you tie my hands?" She needed one, but mainly she wanted to keep the man close enough to talk to.

He moved a few feet away and pulled a comb from his gear and handed it to her. "It ain't very clean, but then neither is your hair."

"Thank you," she managed.

Sage worked through the rats in her hair. Finally, she parted it down the middle and braided it on either side.

She handed him back the comb.

"You look like an Indian," he said as he tied her hands. "Maybe I am," she whispered.

He shook his head. "Charlie says you're a doctor." "Who is Charlie?"

He moved his head slightly toward the redheaded giant she called Big Hands: the leader of the band, the cruel one.

Sage fought down a smile. She had a name. "I am a doctor," she said to the only one of the men who'd spoken to her other than in orders. "Who are you?"

He stood, realizing he'd stayed too long. "Nobody. I'm nobody to you."

She didn't want to lose the one contact she'd made. This man was hard, but he seemed at least human. "What is the leader going to do with me?" She wondered if they knew about her family. The McMurrays were not rich, but compared to most ranches, they must look it. Maybe these outlaws thought they could get a ransom.

The stranger shrugged. "I don't know. I only hooked up with this lot for one piece of paper in that safe. Tomorrow morning they say they'll hand it over to me, and I'll be on my way. I'm not close enough to the gang to be allowed to enter the hideout they'll be heading to. Not sure I want to be. They say a man named Hanover rules the place like he was king."

"What paper's worth your life?"

The stranger shrugged. "The deed to my father's land. I'm not much for ranching, but my brother is. He'll make use of the land." He hesitated, just wanting to talk. "That gambler. Shelley Lander, said I was drunk and lost my land at poker, but I only took one drink that night, and I've never been a poker player. I went in the place seeing if he'd keep the deed in his safe until the title office opened. He kept it, all right.”

Sage wasn't surprised that Shelley had swindled the man. He probably would have tried to claim anything she'd been fool enough to leave in his safe also. "If you're caught. Mr. Nobody, you'll hang with them just the same. Men were killed back there.”

He grinned at what she'd called him and answered, "I know. There wasn't supposed to be any killing, just robbing. At dawn tomorrow I plan to wash my hands of this gang and never set eyes on them again. My brother says we can ranch, and I reckon I’m old enough to finally settle somewhere."

"You'll be hunted down” Sage thought it was worth a try, so she said, "Your only chance might be to take me with you tomorrow. We could ride back to town. I'd tell the Rangers that you saved me. Then you'd have your freedom and your land."

He shook his head. "These men would never give you to me. They say they're taking you to Hanover. They're pretty closemouthed about it, but I think their leader, a fellow who claims to be some kind of count from England, is hurt or sick. I think they need a doctor.”

"But-"

He stopped her. "Look, miss, if you ain't a doc, I sure wouldn't mention it, because that's all that's keeping you alive right now. Otherwise, you're just a witness, and all the other witnesses are dead back there on the floor of the gambling house."

Sage stared at the stranger, trying to make out his features in the darkness. "How'd you get mixed up with these men?"

"There ain't that many men in this country. I suspect I either know or have heard of most of them. These guys don't usually go into settlements. They tend to pester trading posts and freighters. I'd be willing to bet this is the biggest haul they ever made." When she didn't say anything, he added, "I figure many men in Texas have walked on both sides of the law from time to time. I've never seen the line all that clear myself!”

Sage tried to think. She didn't trust this man enough to tell him who she was or to try to bribe him. All she had of value was her wedding band, and she doubted he'd risk his life for ten dollars in gold.

But if she could get a message out with him when he left, there was a chance it could help someone find her.

The stranger picked up her cup and bowl. No one else in the camp was close to them. Sage knew this might be her only chance.

"Do you know someone named Drummond Roak?"

The stranger hesitated. "I heard of him. Word is, he's fast as lightning with a gun. Never met him though. For all I know, he's a damn legend!'

Sage hid her surprise. "If you see him, I swear he'd count it a favor if you tell him you saw me."

The man studied her. "I'll do that," he whispered. "Having a man like Roak owe me one might be worth the risk. But, miss, I ain't likely to see him. I plan to stay out of any town for a while!'

"Just promise you will if your paths cross.”

"I will!” He walked away without looking back.