She spread the shirt wide and leaned into his bare chest as her lips brushed his so briefly he wasn’t sure if it was reality or dream. Then she lowered her face to his chest and rolled her head from side to side, taking in the feel, the smell, the touch of him like a wild animal choosing a mate.
“We have to talk,” he mustered his last ounce of sanity. “Nick.” His mouth touched hers and his words only traveled a breath away.
Without a word, she pressed her lips against his and ended all conversation. He didn’t react to her kiss but let her kiss him.
At first he thought, let her take what she wants, let her torture him. But she wasn’t being fair. She wasn’t taking, she was giving.
She moved her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer, molding the length of her body against him. His resolution shattered. Without thought of how she might reject him, he moved his arms around her waist and matched her kiss.
For a moment, she felt a jolt of surprise and pleasure, then she settled into his arms as if she’d been there a hundred times.
All the reasons they should stay apart crumbled as he kissed her. He felt a wonderful sense of coming home with her in his arms. Even if they could never get along in the real world, here in the night, they were a perfect match.
He plowed one hand into her short curly hair. The thick, midnight silk of it drove him mad. While he was listing reasons for his insanity, he’d have to add the way her lips tasted and the way she pressed against him without holding back and…
Her mouth opened and all other thought vanished as the kiss turned to liquid passion.
He had no idea if minutes or hours passed, nor did he care. She pulled away suddenly, leaving his body a cavern from the loss.
“Listen!” she whispered in sudden panic. A moment later she vanished into the blackness of the room.
SEVENTEEN
NICK SLIPPED HER knife from her boot and crept into the hallway. A thin beam of light from the kitchen cast a glow along the narrow space turning the center of the house into a wood-lined cave.
The sound she’d heard came again. She felt her way along the wall until she reached the front door. The thin windows on either side of the door were black with the darkness of predawn.
“Let me!” Adam whispered from just behind her as he reached for the knob.
“Don’t open it,” she answered. “It could be the deputy, or even Mole.”
“Step back and cover me.” He placed his hand on her shoulder as he moved past her. “I can deal with the deputy… or Mole”
Before Adam could finish the order, she’d vanished with only the sound of her Colt clearing leather hanging in the still air. He blinked twice, fascinated by how she could evaporate.
He straightened and slowly turned the lock on the door. Hinges creaked as he pulled the door toward him. The thin light spread onto the porch.
“Mornin’, Adam,” a deep voice mumbled. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Wes?”
The tall man in leather and chaps pulled off his wide-brimmed hat. “I know I’m sunbaked and it’s still dark, but I thought you’d know me. It may be a little early, but I wanted to make sure I was in time for breakfast. I haven’t had nothing but campfire cooking for weeks.”
Adam pulled his brother in with a slap on the shoulder. “Of course you’re in time.” He looked back into the hallway. “Nick, it’s Wes.”
To both men’s surprise, Nick unfolded from the shadows and jumped into Wes’s waiting arms.
“Well,” Wes laughed with his arm still around her. “I wasn’t expecting to see you, kid.” They moved into the study as Adam found the lantern. “Is Wolf here, also?”
“He will be as soon as he takes care of a few claim jumpers on our land.” Nick slapped at the cowboy’s hat. “And I’m no kid. Name the time and I’ll outride, outshoot and outfight you. I’ve seen the way you Northern boys ride. They must not have anything but milk cows across the Mason-Dixon line.”
His smile reached the scar on his cheek. “I’ve no doubt you could outride me. For four years I felt like I lived in the saddle, but since I’ve been to Texas I’m sleeping in it as well.” He winked at her. “To top it all, kid, you’re getting prettier every time I see you. Isn’t she, Adam?”
Nichole felt her face warm.
“Beautiful’s the word, brother.” Adam didn’t look at her for fear he’d give too much away to Wes. The brother just a year older had always been able to read him.
Wes studied her seemingly unaware of how warm the room had become for everyone else. “That she is. Of course, I thought so the first time I saw her. I remember thinking that if she could look that good in baggy men’s clothes, there wasn’t any telling how many heads she’d turn in a dress.”
Nick paced to the window, not knowing how to handle the sudden praise. “Well, you’ll never know, because I cut up the only dress I owned for bandages when my stage was attacked on the way out.”
“You were on that stage, darlin’?” Wes looked concerned. “I heard the Comancheros killed everyone and burned the bodies.”
“It wasn’t Comancheros, just three outlaws, maybe more. I got a quick look at two of them and their horses. At the time I didn’t know they’d already killed the men on the stage so I stayed in hiding and let them pass. Lucky for them. It would take more than three men to kill a Shadow.”
Wes laughed. “I would have thought you’d given up that line of work since the war.”
The quick glance she gave him told Wes she hadn’t.
Adam changed the subject. “What brings you here?” He didn’t miss the way Wes nodded toward Nick. She nodded back, silently agreeing to continue the discussion later. The pair was leaving him out of any future discussion and Adam didn’t like it.
Wes didn’t take his gaze from Nichole as he answered Adam. “I’ve got a herd a day’s ride from here. I thought I’d ride ahead and pick up supplies while they move closer. I wouldn’t want to let my men stay too long in a town. They’re great on the trail, but as ornery as longhorns around civilization. Plus, I’ve heard talk that Fort Worth has more meanness then oughta be allowed in a town and only a deputy on guard.”
“You’re starting to sound like a Texan.” Adam motioned for him to take a chair.
“I’m becoming one. I went down below Austin looking around, and this state is something to see. You can ride for miles and never see any sign that man touched this land. The war seems a long way away from here, but the wildness of this state keeps your heart pounding and makes you know every minute you’re alive.”
Nichole folded into a chair and draped one long leg over the stuffed arm. “You both are becoming Texans.” She watched the brothers. They belonged in this land with its wide-open spaces and self-law.
“Wait till you meet my partner, Vincent,” Wes answered. “He was born here. You wouldn’t believe the stories he can tell, but he swears they’re all true. I’ll be camped just north of town until he catches up with me. I made good time, but heard he hit bad weather and may be as much as a week behind with the rest of the herd.”
Footsteps sounded in the hall, and Nichole moved off the chair and vanished into the drapes without stirring the air. Wes glanced at Adam, then nodded his understanding to remain silent. There was no need to explain.
“Mornin’.” Rose popped her head in the office door. When she saw Wes, she squealed. “Oh, I’m sorry, Doc. I didn’t know you had a patient.” She looked Wes over as only a woman of the night can examine with a glance. “You don’t look all that sick, mister. Couldn’t you wait till full dawn before you came waking the doc?”
Adam tried to hide his smile. “Rose, this is my brother. He never could tell time. He’s not ill, only hungry.”