Payton's Woman (3 page)

She shrugged in a vague
manner. How could she admit they lay beneath the body of a dead man? “I must
have dropped them somewhere.”

The man at the door opened
it wide enough for Payton to squeeze through with Julia in tow. “Be careful of
Buddy. Looks like he’s sleeping it off on the steps again.”

They maneuvered around
the slumbering body and made their way down the alley. When they reached the
street, he turned to her and put a single finger against his lips.

She stood motionless and
listened. In the distance music played, laughter drifted through the heavy fog,
and footsteps clomped along the cobblestone streets.

He tugged on her hand,
and she followed. When they reached the boarded walk on the other side, he
pulled her close to the buildings so the deep shadows swallowed their bodies.
They hurried down the walk, but when they neared the end of the street, he
slowed their pace. He released her hand and pushed her behind him.

She heard him cock the
revolver he held in his left hand. The weapon rested against his thigh.

“What—” She squeezed her
lips together when his elbow pressed against her ribs, but her silence came too
late.

Two men holding
revolvers stepped from the corner of the building. She recognized one of them
as the man who had followed her into the tavern.

“Well, ain’t this
interesting. Looks like you ain’t doing such a good job of taking care of the
woman after all.” His tone carried a sneer, but suddenly his voice turned hard.
“Give her to us without a fight, and we might let you live.”

“You want her?” Payton
sounded surprised. “And you won’t kill me?”

“That’s right,” the man said.

Julia sensed the man lied.
She hoped Payton realized it also. She worried more about his fate than her
own. He’d defended and protected her. She didn’t want him to die simply because
he’d offered his help.

Payton grabbed her arm
and pulled her beside him. He pushed the hood from her head, exposing her hair
in the foggy moonlight.

“I didn’t know she was
all you wanted.” He threw open her cloak to reveal the swell of her nearly
bared breasts. The two men watched in leering awe as he stroked his fingers
over the skin of her breasts.

“She is beautiful. And
she’s got a body a man could spend all night loving and never get enough of.
But...” His voice had been low, almost mesmerizing, but it turned hard. “No
woman is worth dying for. You can both have her.” He flung her toward them.

Julia barely had time to
gasp in shock before he tossed her into a heap at the feet of the two men. She
couldn’t believe it. That cowardly pirate had given her to these horrible men
to save his own life.

Her surprise quickly
became outrage. If she possessed a weapon, that spineless captain would be her
first target. The single shot from a revolver scattered her thoughts. She attempted
to stand to see what had happened, but a hand pushed her back down.

“Stay there,” Payton
ordered as he stepped over her.

She remained crouched on
her hands and knees, but from her position, she saw both men sprawled beside
her on the walk.

He pulled his knife from
the body of one of the men and wiped the blade clean on the man’s clothing
before sheathing it again. The wounded man squirmed in agony.

She squeezed her eyelids
shut, blocking the sight of blood squirting from his chest. Bile rose in her
throat, and she clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle the gags.

“We’ve got to get away
from here. That shot will likely bring others.” He lifted her from the ground.

As they scrambled down
the street, she heard doors open and voices call out. Brisk footsteps swirled
around in the fog. They hurried for several blocks without stopping before he
maneuvered her into the alcove of a storefront.

“We can stop here for a
few minutes so you can catch your breath.” He gathered her cloak around her
body.

She pulled one arm free
of the cloak and swung at him with her fist. If he hadn’t moved at the last
instant, she would’ve caught him squarely on his cheek, but her fist glanced
off the tip of his bearded chin. “You were going to let those men have me.”

He grabbed both arms and
pinned them to her sides. “Keep your voice down.”

“Are you afraid?” she
asked in a voice just as loud, but now tinged with sarcasm. “You can always
trade me again to save your own miserable, worthless—”

He pulled her against
him. His tight embrace cut off the rest of her words. “Is that what you think?”

“That you’re worthless
and miserable?” she managed to say while struggling against him, yet she couldn’t
budge his solid frame.

His lips curved into a
smile. “I thought I was a man of courage and honor.”

“Evidently your courage
stops short of protecting a defenseless woman.”

“Any man that ever
connects with your fist will never call you defenseless.” He put the side of
his finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. “Did you actually
believe I’d hand you over to that scum?”

“You did. You threw me
at their feet,” she said, but some of her bluster had faded.

“That was to get you out
of the way. I would’ve preferred to keep you behind me, but they seemed intent
on killing me. I couldn’t have helped you if I was dead. Didn’t you wonder why
I pulled back your cloak to expose your breasts?”

“I-I thought you were
just being rude.”

“You thought I wanted
one last feel before I gave you over to them? You do have a body that starts a
man thinking. That’s exactly what I wanted them to do—think about you. They had
their revolvers drawn and pointed at me. I wanted them thinking about you. And
looking at you.

“I had the revolver in
one hand and my knife in the other right after I pushed you to the ground.
Those men watched your lovely body fall, and before they had a chance to look
back at me, one of them had my knife in his chest. The other one had a bullet.”

She cringed at his
bluntness. Too many men were dead tonight because of her.

“I’m sorry,” she
whispered. “I never should have gotten you involved in helping me. You could
have been killed by those men.”

“Not bloody likely,” he
ground out, but his tone softened. “Would you really care if something happened
to me?”

She nodded even though
he held her chin. “There’s already a shortage of men like you in this world.”

“You mean worthless and
miserable?”

“I didn’t mean to call
you that. I was frightened and upset. You risked your life to protect me. I
never should have doubted you.”

“Then you promise to
trust me from here on out?”

Julia hesitated while
she studied his face. The darkness didn’t allow a good view, but she remembered
how he’d looked in the tavern—like a dangerous, bloodthirsty pirate. And
evidently she’d assumed correctly. He’d just fought two men for her. They might
be dead by now, but he didn’t seem bothered by their death. She couldn’t
understand her reasoning. She should be terrified, yet she felt completely safe
in his arms.

“Yes, I promise to trust
you.”

“I think we just struck
another bargain.” He moved his hand from her chin, allowing the back of his
knuckles to skim along her jaw and around her neck. His fingers threaded
through her hair. He cradled the back of her head in his hand.

“Are we going to seal it
with another kiss?” She barely recognized her voice. She sounded breathless and
shaky. The thought of his kiss quickened her pulse. Her breathing reduced to
nothing more than shallow gulps of air.

“No, two kisses. It is
our second bargain.” He lowered his head until his mouth captured hers.

This one differed from
his first. The kiss lasted longer, but his lips pressed against hers in a
gentle, tender touch. Then his tongue stroked into her mouth.

Her body stiffened, and
she tried to pull from his embrace. She used her own tongue in an attempt to
force him out of her mouth. When he didn’t stop, she beat on his chest with her
fist until he ended his kiss.

“What were you doing?”
she asked, the shock in her voice.

“Didn’t you like that?”
His contained amusement.

“No one has ever kissed
me like that.” Her fingers brushed at her lips, still wet from his mouth.

“You mean I’m the first?
I think I like that,” he said in a dark whisper. “What else have you never done
with a man?”

The sensual lure in his
voice caused a tingle to ripple inside her. She forced down the feeling and
tried to regain some control. “I’ve never inflicted an injury with my knee
before.”

He laughed, making a
deep, rumbling noise. “I like you. You’ll probably be the death of me, but I
still like you.”

“I don’t think I like
you. And I don’t like you holding me like this.”

“But you fit against me
so well,” his voice teased. “You’re taller than most women. Five and a half
feet or more.”

“So I’ve been told,” she
said through clenched teeth. She hated being reminded of her height. Her
tallness made her feel abnormal.

“It becomes you. Nothing
about you is common, or ordinary. Your hair. Your eyes. Even your lips.”

“You’re very tall, also,”
she said to divert his attention. Even in the dark, she felt his gaze directed
at her mouth.

“That makes it
convenient.”

“Convenient?” she
questioned.

“Aye. I don’t have to
bend down so far to kiss you.”

He nuzzled his face
against the sensitive area of her neck. His beard and mustache tickled her
skin. His warm breath made her flesh prickle, but his touch didn’t repulse her.

“You’re soft and warm,”
he said next to her ear. His husky, breathy voice sent shivers through her. “And
you smell sweet, like an exotic flower.”

“It’s the Jasmine
perfume,” she blurted out in a nervous reaction. “My brother gave it to me.”

His fingers stroked
across her collarbone to the hollow in her throat. “I’ll bet you even taste
good.” His mouth brushed over her neck and pressed against the spot where his
fingers had been. He nibbled and sucked on her skin.

“Don’t—” The rest of the
words caught in her throat as warmth spread throughout her body. She pushed
against him in an effort to put some distance between them. His unbuttoned
jacket shifted, and her hand pressed against his naked chest.

Hard muscles rippled
beneath her palm as he tightened his embrace. Her hand stroked his bare skin
while her fingers wove through the crisp mat of hair covering his chest. Heat
twisted in her belly and radiated outward to her limbs. She took a deep breath
to clear her thoughts, but when she did, she inhaled his scent.

Remnants of tobacco
smoke and strong drink lingered on his clothing, but beneath it, trapped
between his shirt and bare skin, emanated the primitive essence of a virile
man. It was definitely masculine, but not unpleasant. In some elemental way,
she found it comforting. And exhilarating.

Frightened by these
unfamiliar feelings, she tried to pull from his embrace. Her body twisted in
his arms in an attempted to free herself. The movement caused her breasts to
slide across his naked, hairy chest. She sucked in her breath at the touch of
his warm skin against her bare breasts.

“Please, stop,” she said
in a half-hearted attempt to gain control over her growing desire.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you
trust me? You just promised me you would.”

“I do,” she lied. “I
just don’t like you holding me this close. You reek of cigar smoke and rum,”
she said as an excuse.

He laughed a quiet
rumbling sound that reverberated in his chest. “You found me in a tavern. What
did you expect me to smell like?”

His mood turned serious
and his voice deepened. “What about our second kiss?”

“I don’t want you to
kiss me like that again.”

“Why not? Didn’t you
like it?” he whispered against her ear. “Or perhaps you liked it too well?”

“I-I don’t know.” Being
next to him confused her mind and stirred sensations she’d never experienced.

“Uncertainty is a terrible
thing.” His lips glided across her cheek. “Why don’t we find out together?”

His mouth brushed over
hers. He nibbled and tugged at hers lips. When he turned his head, the kiss
deepened. Moist heat from his mouth surrounded hers just before his tongue caressed
her lower lip and brushed across her upper.

She struggled with the
contradiction of her emotions. Fear and excitement. She should make him stop,
but she didn’t want his kiss to end.

He ignited her body. A
pool of liquid fire spread inside her belly. She wanted this dark-haired,
blue-eyed pirate to hold her in his arms and make her body burn.

Chapter Three

Payton felt her
resistance fade and pushed for his advantage. When her lips parted, he thrust
his tongue into her mouth. Her hands pressed against his chest, but she didn’t
shove him away.

His body reacted to her
silent acquiescence. He’d been aroused by their first kiss. Now he stiffened
painfully. Their kiss had to end, or he’d take her here, now, against the wall.
He loosened his embrace and withdrew from her.

Her tongue followed his
retreat and entered his mouth. She stroked him as he’d done to her. He tried to
move away, but her hands slid up his chest and around his neck. She clutched at
him, urging him closer. Her warm, bare breasts pressed against his naked skin.

Heated blood hammered
through his veins. Putting both arms around her, he pulled her against his
throbbing body. When a tiny moan escaped from her, Payton forgot everything
else. It didn’t matter where they were, nor the danger around them. His senses
demanded fulfillment. His body craved release.

His hand stroked down
her body. He grabbed her leg and wrapped it around his thigh. His fingers
pushed back the edge of her skirt as he searched for bare flesh. She should be
hot and wet, and he ached to touch her.