The Bounty Page 4

  “Okay, got it, Calhoun,” she sneered. “I’m warning you now, bounty hunter, don’t ever, ever speak about my brother like that again, or I’ll kill you myself.”

  Tyler brushed away her threat like a horse flicking away a pesky fly. “You’d better learn to control that mouth, Nicole, or I’ll gag it shut.”

  They stared at each other with controlled rage. Tyler had never met a woman with such fire. She had even landed a couple of good punches to his jaw, which was throbbing in tune with his crotch. She was breathing hard, and her eyes were shining like green fire. Tyler’s sleeping lust woke up with a snarl. He wanted to yank her off that horse, go to the nearest tree, and bury himself inside her until neither one of them could think straight. Tyler could almost see her legs wrapped around his waist as he pumped into her. Shaking his head, he tried to dislodge the image. Did she guess at his erotic thoughts? Disgusted with himself, he leaned forward and stared directly into her eyes.

  “Don’t push me too far.” His voice was low and dangerous. “I guarantee you won’t like it.”

  “I grew up with six brothers. Your scare tactics don’t mean spit,” she said as he slowly let her hands go. She straightened up in the saddle.

  He snorted and spurred the horses forward. There was no way Nicky Malloy was getting under his skin. She was, after all, just a woman, just an outlaw.

  Chapter Four

  Three hours later, they stopped for the night. Nicky was relieved they were finally stopping, affording her an opportunity to attempt escape from the bounty hunter. Tyler dismounted in a grassy meadow near a small patch of cottonwood trees. He secured the horses to one of the trees and set off to find some kindling to start a fire. In the dark, it wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Calhoun? Are you just going to leave me here?” Nicky yelled.

  Tyler ignored her. Nicky was so angry she could have killed him if given a weapon. She was also terrified, absolutely quaking-in-her-boots terrified. After three and a half years, she’d been caught and she was headed back to Wyoming where she was sure that she’d swing from the nearest tree. She shuddered at the memories that were creeping up on her in the dark. She had repressed her feelings for so long—she had only allowed her survival instincts to function. And now they were coming back at her like a runaway locomotive. The shackles were a vivid, cold reminder of what had happened. It was something that had replayed itself hundreds of times in her nightmares.

  She wasn’t surprised Owen had made up stories about her. Thief? Never. Murderer? No. She had done what she had to do in self-defense. Hoffman’s brother was going to rape her and would have killed her without a second thought afterwards. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears as a tide of emotions threatened. Don’t do this now, she told herself, hold on. The shackles clanged noisily as she wiped the tears from her eyes before that bounty hunter saw them.

  “You can’t escape from those, Nicole.” Tyler’s deep voice was suddenly next to her. “They’re not made of leather like Hermano’s. That’s cold steel and even your sharp little teeth can’t bite through it.”

  She glared down into his unreadable and cold blue eyes. She tried to wrestle her foot from the stirrup to kick him, but he caught hold of the back of her thigh. The touch of his large hand on her leg sent goose bumps clear up to her ears, and she felt a dampness between her legs. What was it about this man?

  “I’m going to start a fire, so sit tight and I’ll get you down in a minute,” he said as he turned away from her.

  As soon as he was out of earshot, she slid down from her horse as quietly as she could and crept toward the tree where the reins were secured. As she reached up, the shackles clanged, and she froze in mid-motion. Tyler was instantly behind her.

  “You don’t listen good, Malloy,” he growled, grabbing her and pulling her by the collar of her shirt back to the horses, the heels of her boots dragging along the ground.

  “Let me go, you stupid bastard.”

  “Malloy, I think you know more cuss words than I do. What a mouth you’ve got.”

  After plopping her back on her horse, he twisted the shackles on her saddle in a way that she couldn’t move more than six inches. She tried to kick him again, but he easily sidestepped her long leg.

  “Tsk, tsk. Don’t waste your energy,” he warned as he went back to gathering firewood.

  True to his word, he started a small fire and then came back to get Nicky. He unlocked the shackle from his saddle and secured it to one wrist. She gaped at him as he lifted her out of the saddle, her bound breasts brushing his chest lightly. A shiver of goose bumps danced up her spine again as his long fingers almost touched at the center of her back.

  “I’m going to be chained to you now?” she cried, aware her body had betrayed her.

  He simply stared down at her, a novel experience for her. Generally speaking, she either looked at or down at most men. Tyler Calhoun topped her by more than six inches. She couldn’t read what was in the depths of those icy blue eyes, but she thrust her chin up in her typical defiance, refusing to be cowed by this man.

  “Are you at least going to let me relieve myself or shall I pee in my pants?”

  “You can go behind a tree,” he muttered, his voice thick as he dragged her toward the nearest one.

  “What?” She was caught off guard by his command. “Where am I gonna go? I demand that you unchain me.”

  His lips curled into a smirk. “I don’t trust you, Nicole.”

  “It’s Nicky. My mama is the only one who calls me Nicole, and you certainly don’t deserve the privilege.”

  Tyler’s expression remained as flexible as a rock.

  Nicky turned abruptly, heading to the trees with her head held high. She wasn’t about to let Tyler see the effect he had on her. Unfortunately for her, she forgot how short the chain was that bound her to Calhoun. She was jerked backwards and straight into Tyler’s arms. Nicky felt those goose bumps turn into a hot flash of something else entirely as she found herself pressed up against this man’s hard, muscular chest. Tyler reached down and pulled off Nicky’s hat. For a crazy, heart-stopping moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. And oh, God, she wanted him to. She didn’t dare take a breath.

  “You’d better remember how short your leash is,” he said softly.

  Damn the man! Nicky was flushing as she extricated herself from his arms. She couldn’t think of a single retort to his remark, so she hauled off and punched him in the stomach, which was as hard as granite. Her fist was now aching painfully and his unperturbed expression made her angrier.

  “Calhoun, are you made of stone everywhere?”

  He seemed to find her anger amusing as he half-smiled at her. “Not all the time.”

  Her body still hummed from the contact. She was excited by him. Excited by the very man that wanted to bring her back for money, like a whore. She didn’t want to think about how hard his body could actually get…and where.

  Turning her back on him, she clenched her jaw in frustration at her own stupidity. “I’d like to relieve myself now.”

  What she thought was a rather rusty chuckle erupted from behind her. “Right this way,” he said, pointing to the small copse of trees.

  Nicky walked carefully to the trees, keeping as far away from Tyler as possible. She turned to glare at him.

  “I’m not who you think I am. Owen Hoffman made up a thief and murderer for the law and bounty hunters to chase. But I am not that person.”

  She worked hard to maintain her dignity under the bounty hunter’s piercing gaze. She couldn’t help but appreciate the raw, untamed power that was evident in his eyes, his stance, and his hard body. No doubt about it, this was a cold man with iron in his spine. It was going to take some serious planning to escape. But she would escape, of that she had no doubt. She chose to ignore the little voice in her head whispering, he found you twice, what makes you think he wouldn’t catch you again?

  “I’m getting paid to bring you back to Wyoming. How I feel doesn’t
matter one way or the other.”

  Now what the hell did that mean? Do bounty hunters actually feel? She opened her mouth to ask him what he meant but one strong finger landed on her lips to stop her. She resisted the urge to lick it.

  “Take a piss right now or you can sit in wet pants all night. Your choice.”

  Embarrassingly, Nicky felt her nipples stir under her bindings. The touch of his callused digit was arousing too.

  She chose the coward’s way out and headed behind the tree to pee. She wondered if he was going to look at her while she did it. Then wanted to rip the thought from her head when the idea excited her.

  ———

  Tyler breathed a sigh of relief when Nicky opted not to fight with him over taking a piss. When she’d slammed into him, he hardened like a stone. He had to physically restrain himself from looking at her when she pulled her drawers down in the darkness to do her business.

  Why the hell did he have to want her so much?

  He led her over to the fire then sat her down with a grumbled curse. She watched him through shuttered eyes by the light of the campfire. As he quickly made the batter for johnnycakes in his skillet, he felt her eyes on him. Tyler was also quietly studying his prisoner. She thought she was being so smart in her sneaky perusal, but he wasn’t the best bounty hunter for no reason. He had needed the reminder of just who and what she was.

  “You can just hurl your escape plans right into this fire.” He had trained his voice to be without a drop of emotion. “You are not getting away from me.”

  He turned his head to release the full force of his penetrating gaze on the outlaw. Many men had lost all hope because of that gaze. Others had literally shaken in their boots. Nicky, however, just quirked up one eyebrow and pursed her lips in a slight smirk. The firelight danced across her hair, making it glisten with its own fire.

  “Scary. Does that nasty look usually work?”

  A muscle twitched in his cheek as he ground his teeth together in frustration. He’d been saddled with a witch. Oh, perhaps she didn’t dance under the full moon and sacrifice chickens, but he didn’t doubt she was a witch through and through.

  “Maybe you can try harder.” She shrugged.

  He was startled to notice a bruise on her chin where he’d punched her back in Willowbend. He forced his conscience to take a nap on that one. She obviously knew the rules of the game, too, since she hadn’t made a peep about it. Of course, all the reasoning in the world didn’t change the fact that he’d hit a woman, something he’d never, ever done before. He sure as hell wasn’t proud of it either.

  At the sound of approaching hoofbeats, Tyler rose in a split second, pistol cocked. Before Nicky had time to stand, two riders came into the circle of firelight on lathered cow ponies.

  Tyler’s gaze surveyed the newcomers, their abilities, and their weapons. He remembered them from Nicky’s afternoon card game. Two-bit cowboys without a brain between them. Nobody treated a horse with such disregard when it was your only link to survival out on the prairie or the range. They were dressed in dirt-encrusted chaps, even dirtier shirts—couldn’t tell what color they were—and had ragtag, poorly made saddles. He waited with a pistol at the ready, his rifle hanging from his left hand.

  “Hey there, mister, Willard tol’ us you took Jesse from town today,” drawled the bigger one. “We come to take him offa your hands.” He had crooked teeth, looked like he hadn’t bathed in a month or two, and his greasy brown hair hung down to his shoulders. His partner had corkscrew red hair and dull, empty eyes.

  “Go away, Nate,” Nicky said in her “manly” voice.

  “Well, Jesse, from where I’m sittin’, I got the drop on yore bounty hunter here.” He leered as his gaze fastened on her chest.

  “I said, go away. I don’t need or want your help,” she growled as she rose to her feet.

  “Too goddamn bad,” said the one she’d called Nate. “I been waitin’ too long fer ya to drop yore drawers for me. Now I aim to finally get ya with a reward to boot.”

  “What the hell are you talkin’ about, Nate? You want a man to drop his drawers fer ya?”

  “No, no. Jesse’s really a woman, ya ijit. I saw her taking a bath one day in the crick. Mi-tee-fine titties.” He licked his lips, leaving a trace of spittle from one side to the other like a dog waiting for a meal.

  “Jesse’s a woman? I cain’t believe it.”

  “Believe it. And, she’s mine now.”

  “The only way you’re getting in my drawers is to wear them, you stupid bastard,” Nicky shouted.

  Tyler wasn’t about to give up six thousand dollars for two mangy cowboys with stiff peckers. “You heard the lady.” His voice sliced through the heated conversation. “Be on your way.”

  “Ya think ya can take both of us?” sneered Nate. He leaned forward on his saddle and caressed the butt of his pistol.

  “No question.” Tyler brought his rifle up to point directly at Nate’s heart.

  Nate’s eyes grew a bit wider and darted back and forth between Nicky and Tyler. One grimy hand yanked at his crotch. He snorted noisily then spat a huge amount of some disgusting looking spit on the ground in front of them.

  “Let’s go, Rusty. Don’t think you’re scaring us away, mister,” Nate called as he turned to go. “Ya gotta sleep sometime, then that bitch will be mine.”

  After one last venom-filled look at Nicky, the two idiots spurred their horses around and headed back into the darkness. Nate’s laughter faded into the distance as they rode away. Tyler turned to Nicky as he replaced the pistol in his holster.

  “Smart fella. It’s always good to let on what you’re going to do to ambush somebody before you do it. Old beau of yours?”

  She snorted and rolled her eyes skyward. “A rat wouldn’t keep company with a lowdown skunk like that.”

  Tyler shrugged with a casualness he didn’t really feel. First there was a constant battle with his lust. Now this. He wasn’t at all certain as to why he felt protective toward this woman. It was an odd and unsettling emotion he couldn’t ever remember feeling, except perhaps for his mother. That was another lifetime ago. And Jesus Christ on crutches, he didn’t want to drag that up now.

  Nicky shook her head back and forth. “Why did God create man?” she muttered. “If they can’t kill something, they want to fu—”

  Tyler cut her off with a jerk on her arm. “Watch it, Malloy.”

  “Too close to the truth, bounty hunter?”

  He stared at her long and hard. “If you’re wanting company, I can ask the two of them to come back.”

  Nicky blanched. It was the first time he’d seen a reaction other than anger from this little spitfire. Then her cheeks turned into a blaze of red heat and she clenched her hands into fists.

  “No one, no one will ever force me to do that with a man. I’ll cut off his prick before he touches me.”

  This woman really did have an amazing vocabulary. “With what? You’re not even armed,” he scoffed.

  She smiled at him with no warmth in her eyes. “Can’t wait to find out?”

  God Almighty, she was tough.

  “Won’t have to. Never had to force a woman. Don’t intend on starting, especially with you.”

  Nicky visibly flinched and averted her eyes to the fire. “Your supper is burning.”

  “Dammit!”

  As Tyler tried in vain to salvage the johnnycakes, Nicky dropped to the ground with a thump.

  “We’ll be moving camp after we eat.”

  “I figured that one out all by myself.”

  While they ate a dinner of chewy jerky and water, Nicky complained about the cold meal, the hard ground, and everything else on God’s green earth that was bothering her. Tyler was more than ready to gag her as he had threatened earlier.

  As he cleaned up the simple fare, he glared at her until her chattering stopped and she was finally silent.

  “Listen, magpie, I need you to just shut the hell up for a minute. We’ve got to be sma
rt about moving our camp tonight. Those two idiots are still out there, waiting. You can either help, or your friend Nate can get his chance with you.”

  Nicky took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “What do you want me to do?” she finally said.

  “Put everything back in the saddlebags. Follow me, and stay low to the ground until we’re far enough away to get a fix on them. We’re going to walk the horses for a spell in a few circles. I don’t suspect they have good tracking skills between them. Keep those pink lips quiet, and obey me. Do you understand the word quiet?”

  She nodded.

  “How about the word obey?”

  Her jaw clenched tightly, but she nodded again.

  “Good. Keep both of those words in mind and we’ll lose those bastards.”

  As Tyler doused the fire, she gathered their belongings and began putting them into the saddlebags. She hesitantly rooted around in his.

  “No weapons in there, Malloy. Move that sweet behind before I have to spank it.”

  Oh, hell, why did he have to say that? Another fantasy danced across his overactive mind.

  Nicky harrumphed at his remark, but completed her task without any further ado. They crept to their horses and slung the saddlebags up. After making sure the shackles were secure, he grabbed the reins of her horse, and pulled her forward along with the horses.

  “Let’s go.”

  For hours, Tyler pushed Nicky in the darkness to keep walking. He kept bringing up Nate, hoping it would inspire her to keep going. He was tired, so he figured she must be completely exhausted.

  “You’re a demon from hell, aren’t you?” she said with more than a hint of weariness.

  He grinned into the darkness. “No, but you’re not the first person to ask me that.”

  “No doubt. Too bad I don’t have some holy water to heave at you just to be sure. Or perhaps lay my hands on you and yell ‘begone demon’.”

  Tyler had to swallow a snort of laughter. “Believe it or not, a traveling preacher tried that outside of Amarillo once. He ended up on his ass in the dirt after his righteous spittle hit me on the nose.”