Devils on Horseback: Gideon, Book 5 Read online

  Chloe might get pregnant, but she could tell folks she was a widow. The last thing she needed was another young’un though. The girls were more than a handful—Chloe didn’t want to contemplate how much work a new baby would be for their lopsided family.

  Chloe accepted the raw truth. With this action, she would be taking advantage of Gideon Blackwood and giving him nothing in return except a good meal and some pleasure. Her heart fluttered like a trapped butterfly while the rest of her tingled with anticipation. She didn’t understand her reaction but followed her natural instincts, which told her to bed him, no matter what.

  By the time she got to the wagon, Chloe shook hard enough to make her teeth rattle. She closed her eyes and took deep, slow breaths. She had been attracted to him from the moment she’d seen him walking toward the wagon. He was the one she wanted to lose her virginity with, the man to show her what it meant to be a woman. With a lean-hipped swagger that reminded her of a large cat, soft brown curls and blue eyes, his appeal seemed endless.

  She had to do this. She would do this.

  Chloe climbed into the wagon.

  Gideon was having a highly enjoyable dream. In it, a woman had slid up next to him in bed. She was warm and soft, slowly caressing his chest and arms. His dick began to respond to her ministrations, and he moaned at the pleasure from just her touch. She smelled good, like sunshine and woman.

  He reached for her and noted she was shaking. “It’s all right, darling. Come closer and I’ll warm you up.”

  She sighed against his shoulder, and that’s when he knew he wasn’t dreaming at all. There was a woman in his arms, and he was sleeping in a wagon.

  “Chloe?”

  “I’m lonely. I need to feel a man’s touch again.” Her words were rushed, and she sounded nervous.

  Gideon came fully awake when her words sank in. Chloe wanted to lie with him. In the wagon. In the cold. Could this day be any stranger?

  “Please, Gideon. I-I just thought we could make each other feel g-good.” She reached for his trousers, and he stopped her.

  “Chloe, I can’t bed you in this wagon with your grandmother within hearing distance.”

  To his surprise, she shook her head. “Don’t you worry about Granny. She knows I have needs.”

  Chloe pushed his hands away and took hold of his still semi-hard dick. To his chagrin, he hardened completely, pulsing against her palm. Who was he to push her away? She said she wanted to be with a man again. Obviously she had sexual experience, and he could appreciate being lonely. He was lonely every day of his life, even with his family around him.

  Her movements were awkward, but her hand was magic. She stroked him up and down, tugging with each pass. He closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of her small hand and dexterous fingers. It was a spectacular way to wake up.

  When she climbed on top of him and pulled off her dress, she didn’t have ladies’ drawers on or those hideous pants she’d sported earlier. Chloe was naked as the day she was born under that potato sack. Her alabaster skin nearly glowed in the half light. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch her warm thighs. They were firm but softer than anything he’d touched before.

  They were also trembling.

  A terrible thought occurred to him. “Chloe, are you doing this because you think you owe me something?”

  “No, I’m doing this because I want to. I owe me something.”

  He didn’t understand her response, and before he could formulate another question, she slid down his erection. Her pussy was so tight, it was like a fist inside her. Yet he was embedded in only moments. He quietly blew out a breath of relief that she wasn’t a virgin.

  But she was so fucking snug, she couldn’t have had much experience. Then there was her awkward attempt at riding him, which was clumsy enough he took pity on her. He flipped her on her back in one swift movement, leaving them face-to-face. Her breath came in choppy bursts, the heat bathing his skin.

  He pulled out, then slid back in slowly, reveling in the feel of her sweet pussy. Gideon focused on the two things he’d been thinking about all evening—her tits. He couldn’t quite tell the nipple color, but it was light, likely pink. The nipples were currently hard and pointing straight at him. He reached down and lapped at them, earning a surprised moan from Chloe. Whoever she’d been with previously must not have seen to her pleasure. The least Gideon could do was show her what she’d been missing.

  While his mouth closed around the right breast, one hand closed around the left. She gasped, and her body arched up to meet him. Gideon decided her breasts were exactly the right size, enough to fill his hands and mouth, perfect. She was so responsive to him, even pulling at his back and thrusting up at him, but he kept his measured pace.

  Little did she know, Gideon was forcing himself to go slowly. She was tight enough to make him come within seconds. If he didn’t control himself, he’d pound into her until he couldn’t see straight. Then all of it would be over much too quickly. He wanted to take his time.

  When he bit down on her nipple, she hissed and clenched around his dick. She liked it, so he did it to the other sweet breast. This time she scratched him as her fingers dug into his shoulders.

  “You like that, little one?”

  She responded by tightening around his cock, which should’ve been impossible, but it happened anyway. That was like putting a lit match in dry tinder, because the orgasm roared through him. He didn’t even have time to warn her to hold on. Instead he sucked and bit at her nipples, seeing stars behind his closed lids as intense pleasure coursed through him. He at least tried to remember not to crush Chloe, but he could hardly see straight, much less think. When he rolled off her, she sighed.

  “Sorry about that. I meant to hold back but, uh, I couldn’t.” His voice was a hoarse whisper in the quiet of the night.

  “It’s fine. Men just do their business and move on. It ain’t nothing to apologize for.”

  Her sweeping statement pricked Gideon’s pride. Even if it was true, he didn’t want to be lumped in with other men, maybe even those who had used her to “do their business”. Truthfully, he was a considerate lover, most of the time. He hadn’t been with a woman in over a year, and this nighttime tryst had sent him over the edge like a shooting star.

  “No, it’s not fine. I meant to see to your pleasure.” He rolled onto his side and plucked one nipple. “If you’ll let me, I’ll do it now.”

  “Do what?”

  Gideon smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She looked up at him in confusion. He realized she had no idea that women could get pleasure from sex with men. He was going to change that misconception.

  “I’m going to make you feel good too.”

  “You gonna lick my titties again? I liked that.” She was definitely as brash in bed as she was out.

  Without answering her, he reached for the beautiful tits and began making Chloe feel good. She made kittenish moans as he slowly licked all around the nipples, avoiding the tips until she tugged at his hair. Smiling, he pinched one turgid peak and nibbled at the other.

  “Oh my.”

  Gideon skimmed his hand down her soft belly until he reached the crinkly hairs between her legs. Damp with their combined juices, his fingers slid into her folds easily. She sucked in a breath when he found her clit.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Relax, little one. I’m making you feel good.” He could tell she’d never experienced the truest pleasure a human being could find.

  As he lapped at one nipple then the other, she clenched at his shoulder. Her heart beat against his cheek, hard and fast. As perspiration coated her skin, her breath grew choppy. He knew she was close to finding her release. He rubbed his fingers faster on the swollen bud of pleasure. She arched her back as her entire body tightened. A keening cry, softer than an owl’s hoot, slipped from her lips.

  “God
in heaven.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “What was that?”

  He kissed her and tucked her under his arm. “That was pleasure.”

  “I think I’d like to do that again.”

  Gideon chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I don’t mind giving a lady what she asks for, but we’re not going to do that again.”

  “Are you sure?” Her voice was the softest he’d heard all day.

  “Yes, I’m sure.” The last thing Gideon wanted was to be involved with Chloe any more than he already was. If he’d been more awake when she’d first crawled into the wagon, he would have told her no. Done was done, though, but he wasn’t going to repeat it.

  Chloe held back tears through force of will. She’d never, ever felt anything like what Gideon had just done with her. It was incredible, amazing, beyond the stars in the sky. Granny hadn’t said anything about how she’d feel or the way her body would nearly explode in his hands.

  She lay there and listened to his heartbeat against her ear. He was a warm man, handsome and skilled in bed play. Any girl would be happy to have him as her mate.

  Even Chloe.

  Oh, she didn’t pretend it would ever happen, but it was nice to think about for a little while. He didn’t take her seriously as a woman, but he did treat her as one in the darkness of the wagon. He’d taught her a lot, and she couldn’t regret he’d been the one to take her virginity, although he would never know what he’d done.

  Chloe waited until his breathing became even and she was sure he was asleep. She didn’t want to leave him. He was warmer than a fire, and damned if she wasn’t comfortable as all get-out snuggled up against him. With a sigh, she pulled herself away and dressed. As she crept out of the wagon silently, she could smell his scent on her skin, could still feel the ghosts of his hands on her body.

  When she was far enough away, she let a few tears fall. She would allow herself to grieve for what could have been, but only for a little while. There was no time for more than that.

  * * * * *

  Gideon woke as if someone had pinched him. He sat up, noting his trousers were unbuttoned and the sun was almost up. As he rubbed his hands down his cheeks, the unmistakable scent of a woman on his fingers slapped him across the face.

  Jesus Christ.

  He’d allowed Chloe to crawl into his bed, then had lost control five minutes later. What the hell had he been thinking? Well, he hadn’t been thinking at all. He’d been half-awake and in a perpetual state of horniness. Gideon had been attracted to Chloe the day before, and his weak will had succumbed to a woman’s touch on his dick.

  He dressed quickly, stuffing his shirt into his trousers, careful not to let his hands come near the organ that had betrayed him too easily. Gideon jumped out of the wagon, glancing at the campsite and noting the ladies were already up and about. Damn.

  He walked toward the creek to wash. Chloe’s scent on his hands was more than distracting. He knew she’d come to him—it had been her choice. Yet he could have said no, could have pushed her away. He hadn’t, of course, and he didn’t want to think about why. Gideon was supposed to be getting away from women, not pulling the first one he met into his bed. Granny would likely shoot off his dick if she knew what he’d been up to with her granddaughter.

  Gideon was disappointed with his self-control. After all the postulating he’d done in Tanger to his family, he did exactly the opposite of what he’d intended. He washed his hands with sand until they were reddened from the grit and the cold-as-hell water.

  After splashing water on his face, he smashed his hat on his head and headed back to the wagon. He would forget breakfast, even if he wanted coffee bad enough his teeth hurt. The wagon needed to get fixed and as fast as possible. As he marched across the meadow, he heard Chloe call his name, but he kept going.

  Gideon was ready to get busy, and nothing she said was going to stop him. She reached the wagon seconds after he did, demonstrating just how fast she was. Chloe was wearing the potato-sack dress again and the floppy hat. She put her hands on her hips.

  “Ready to get started?” She pointed to the stump he’d hauled over to prop up the wagon. “I can roll it under when you’ve got the wagon up.”

  Gideon peered at her, although he could hardly see her eyes in the shadow of the damn hat. “Are you all right?”

  It was as close as he’d come to telling her he felt guilty about what they’d done. He wanted to apologize but figured she would take it as an insult.

  “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? I already had my breakfast.” Her annoyed tone told him she was back to normal. Must be she had conquered whatever had driven her to seek him out in the darkness.

  “Then let’s get going. I want to be on my way at some point today. No point in staying another night.”

  Gideon was embarrassed to hear the words spill out of his mouth, more so when she flinched. He’d never acted such a way toward a woman, especially one he’d already been intimate with. He had been rude and, to his chagrin, downright mean to the point where his mother would have blistered his ears had she been alive to do it. When he opened his mouth to apologize, she cut him off before he had a chance to squeak out one syllable.

  “Stop flapping your gums if you’re in such a hurry. Let’s get the wheel fixed.” She pushed one stump onto its side and rolled it to the wagon, then repeated it with the second stump she had found on her own. He should have thought to use two, but he was rapidly discovering his brain ceased to work normally when Chloe was around.

  Gideon took a moment to swallow back the curses stuck in his throat before he picked up the branch he’d found to lever up the wagon. He had a hard time reconciling the tiny dictator in front of him with the woman who had crawled into his bed six hours earlier. An even harder time not asking her outright why she was so dang ornery.

  Time to get the Ruskins on their way.

  He jammed the branch under the wagon, the rock serving as the fulcrum, digging into the dirt to get a better lift. She rolled the stump to the middle and waited by his feet. In contrast to the wagon, she was small and vulnerable. If he lost his grip, she could be injured or even crushed. The responsibility of her welfare was on his shoulders, and it made him itch all over. He’d shouldered many responsibilities in his life, but over the last few years had been left with only one—the restaurant he ran with his cousin. Gideon was a natural leader, and folks usually followed along behind him. Now he’d run across the one woman who not only didn’t want to follow him, she wanted to lead herself. And she likely didn’t appreciate being at his feet.

  With a mighty heave, he levered the wagon up. The strain forced a primal roar out of his mouth that echoed around them. Within seconds, Chloe had one stump then the other wedged under the wagon and had scooted away.

  “I’m clear.”

  Although he wanted to drop it, Gideon slowly lowered the wagon, hearing every pop and creak the wood made. By the time the thing was resting on the stumps, he was shaking and sweating. Chloe thumped each one and then looked up at him.

  “I guess it worked.” She rose and peered at him. “Appears you need some vittles after all. I’ll get the wheel off while you go get yourself some breakfast.”

  “I’m not leaving you here to take off that wheel alone.” The very idea made his temper rise. “What kind of man do you think I am?”

  “One who just levered up that wagon by himself. I ain’t never seen the like.” Chloe sounded impressed. “Now get some food in you. Taking off the wheel ain’t no big job.”

  Gideon was a little flustered by her assessment of him. It took him a few moments to recover. “I’d rather you wait. That wagon could come down on you, and where would Granny and the girls be without you?” He pointed at the new wheel propped up at the other side of the wagon. “If you want to do something, grease up the new wheel and the axles.”

  She wanted to tell him to go to hell, he c
ould see it in her face, but she merely shrugged and snatched up the bucket that had pine tar in it. The woman was testing his patience, stomping on his last nerve—no doubt he was having the same effect on her. Gideon could attribute the passion between them for the incredible sex they’d shared in the wagon. That passion obviously would lead to nothing but trouble for either of them.

  He walked toward the others, feeling the burn of Chloe’s stare on his back again. It was as sharp as her tongue. Granny stood at the fire, wooden spoon in hand and a frown on her face to match her granddaughter’s. Yep, the Ruskins definitely needed to be on their way.

  “What kinda fool starts his work without a good meal under his belt?”

  The two little moppets sat on the same log as the night before, chewing on what appeared to be jerky. They stared at him without blinking, which spooked him just a bit.

  “The kinda fool who wants everyone to get going to where they need to be.” He sat down and reached for the coffee pot. Granny rapped his knuckles with the spoon.

  “That’s powerful hot, and we don’t need no burns to add to our troubles.” She used the apron, which he noticed was thin enough he could see her hand through it, to pour him a cup of coffee. “I’ve got cornpone from last night and some jerky. Ain’t got no sugar to speak of, but the coffee is hot.”

  “That’s all I need. I’m mighty grateful for it too.” He accepted a plate with a huge piece of cornpone and a few stringy-looking pieces of jerky. The family barely had enough to feed themselves and here they were giving him two meals’ worth of food in one. “I can’t take this much.”

  “We only got a few hundred miles to go. Asides, we cain’t pay you for your help, and a Ruskin always settles their debt.” She said something to the girls low enough for him to miss, and they scurried off toward the creek.