Carol Finch (9 page)

Gideon gouged Drifter in the flanks, forcing him to take the shortcut down the rock-strewn embankment. The horse whinnied in protest, but Gideon refused to let the animal retreat. Once they were headed downhill, momentum
kept them going. Gideon practically lay back on Drifter’s rump as the horse skidded through the grass and pockets of loose dirt near the boulders. The horse stumbled once but Gideon jerked the reins, keeping Drifter’s head up. Then he sprawled back once again to help the horse maintain balance.

One false step, and he and Drifter would tumble head over heels down the slope to land in a broken heap. Gideon did everything humanly possible to ensure that didn’t happen. Besides, he thought self-righteously, he had the law on his side.

That should count for something.

Lori unintentionally pulled Pirate to a halt and stared incredulously at Gideon. That fearless warrior of a man had forced Drifter down a treacherous slope that no horse and rider should have negotiated. It was too dangerous, with pitfalls scattered everywhere along the path he blazed downhill.

How dare he risk her horse when she had purposely circled the rugged slope to ensure Pirate suffered no injuries! Damn that daredevil marshal! He and her horse might end up with broken necks. She’d have to shoot
both
of them.

It would upset her to shoot her own horse.

Although her preservation instincts shouted at her to race across the meadow to seek shelter in the wooded hill on the far side of the creek, she sat there apprehensively, making sure Gideon didn’t injure himself or her horse. She caught her breath twice when Drifter stumbled and nearly lost his footing. If Gideon hadn’t been an exceptional rider with years of experience, he’d have met with disaster.

Only when Gideon reached the spot where the hillside leveled out to provide solid footing did she nudge Pirate. The powerful stallion gathered himself then shot off like
a cannon, assuring Lori that he was faster of foot than Drifter, who was carrying heavier weight.

“Stop, damn you!” Gideon bellowed behind her. “Don’t make me shoot you!”

Lori paid him no mind. She knew Gideon wouldn’t shoot Pirate out from under her so she plastered herself against the horse’s muscular neck.

She shouldn’t have been surprised or disappointed when Gideon fired his pistol at her. The bullet whizzed past her head. That telling shot proved Gideon had no feelings whatsoever for her. The passion they’d shared in the moonlit darkness of the barn meant nothing to him. She could have been any female in a skirt and he would’ve toyed with her for his lusty amusement.

“One last chance to stop!” he bellowed at her.

Lori headed straight for the creek, hoping to scrabble up the tree-covered slope to take cover. She was halfway across the stream when Gideon let out a loud whistle. She yelped in surprise when Pirate came to a screeching halt in midstream. Lori flew over his head and kerplopped in the water before she had time to snatch a quick breath of air. She swore she’d swallowed ten gallons of water.

Gasping for breath, she climbed upon hands and knees, desperate to crawl ashore to hide in the trees. Behind her, Drifter splattered into the creek. Panicked, Lori shot to her feet, hoping to dash to safety but Gideon dived off the horse and landed directly on top of her.

Water shot up her nose and slapped her in the face as she submerged. She couldn’t catch a breath since Gideon was sprawled on top of her.

When she came up for air, Gideon grabbed her by the hair on her head and forced her down. She struggled frantically, trying to land a roundhouse blow with her fists, but
she couldn’t see where to strike him when he held her head underwater.

He allowed her to come up for a breath then shoved her down again, without using excessive force. He simply outmuscled her to prove that he held the upper hand. She doubted he’d drown her, but it made her furious that she was no match for his strength. He delighted in driving home that point, damn him.

She should drown, just to spite this ornery devil. He might even feel guilty—for a couple of minutes.

When he pulled her up by the mop of her wet hair, she gasped and sputtered to draw breath. “I…hate…you…Gideon…Fox,” she wheezed in outrage.

“That’s a mean thing to say,” he taunted. “I’ll let you up when you say you
love
me, hellion.”

“I’d rather die!” she spat, and coughed.

“Your choice, honey.”

Lori barely had time to grab a breath before he forced her head underwater again. Unfortunately, her fierce preservation instincts provoked her to fight back instead of sticking with her claim that she’d rather die first. Just as she swore she’d run out of breath, Gideon lifted her head from the water and stuck his grinning face into hers.

“Still hate me?”

“Yes,” she snarled furiously. “You are the devil!”

“Stop hurting my feelings with your snide insults.”

“You don’t have feelings. Your heart is solid rock—”

He forced her head down again then pulled her up a few moments later. “Say you love me.”

“You love me,” she repeated.

“No, say…
I love you.”

When she stuck out her chin defiantly, he pushed her underwater then waited another few moments before pulling her to the surface. Lori was through with his taunting
games of pushing her to the very limit of her temper. Let him think she’d drowned. Let him think she was a murderess, a horse thief and a high-priced courtesan. What did she care? She couldn’t convince him she was innocent, even if she devoted a month to the task.

Furthermore, she wasn’t going to say she loved this cantankerous daredevil of a lawman who amused himself at her expense. He’d done that two nights earlier and she refused to let him humiliate her again.

When she went perfectly still in the water, he yanked her up by the shoulders and stared worriedly at her. “Lori, are you all right?”

She reared back and punched him squarely in the jaw. The surprise attack stunned him and gave her a chance to shove both hands against his chest. He squawked as he tumbled off balance and went underwater. She bounded up and stepped on his chest with both feet, using him as a springboard.

To her dismay, he rolled sideways in the shallow water and grabbed her ankle. She belly flopped with a splat and a shriek. She managed to catch a quick breath before his powerful body covered her completely, weighing her down.

She was glad she didn’t have to face him, knowing he’d flash that devilish grin, provoking her to try to claw the triumphant expression off his face.

She muttered when he lifted himself then grabbed her shoulder to press her onto her back in the shallows. When he sprawled on top of her, sensations that had no business whatsoever assailing her trickled through her betraying body. He’d captured her and tormented her for escaping on his own horse, but he was
not
going to see her melt beneath him like she had two nights past.

“All right. You win, Fox,” she snapped as his hips settled
suggestively against hers and he braced his upper body on his forearms. “I love you. Madly. Now let me up!”

He smiled and his blue eyes sparkled like polished sapphires. It was the first time he’d really smiled at her. It wasn’t one of those wry or cynical expressions he usually reserved for her. Rather a rare smile that settled into every ruggedly handsome feature and transformed him into strikingly handsome.

“Now was that so hard, hellion?” he teased. “Say it again. It’s sweet music to my ears.”

“I’d like to
box
your ears instead,” she sniped.

He clucked his tongue and shook his wet head. “You’ll have to do better than that if I’m going to let you up.”

Fine. She’d say the words he demanded a dozen times—and never mean it once. Words meant nothing and she’d never forgive him for the infuriating way he made her cry uncle.

“I love you, Gideon Fox,” she said, without an ounce of emotion vibrating in her voice. “Happy now?”

His dark brows furrowed and his smile faded. “Not as happy as I’d hoped.”

To her surprise—or dismay, she couldn’t decide which—he lowered his shaggy raven head until his sensuous lips were hovering a hairbreadth from her mouth. She turned her head, afraid that he’d kiss her and she’d be unable to stifle a response.

The feel of his muscular body gliding intimately against hers crumbled her defenses in less than a heartbeat. She wasn’t sure how much more wicked temptation she could take before her traitorous body gave in. When he cupped her chin and turned her face to his, she made the critical mistake of staring into those spellbinding blue eyes. Her resolve floated downstream as he pressed his lips ever so gently to hers.

She could defy his forceful commands day and night. But his rare tenderness defeated her as nothing else could.

A moment later, his kiss deepened, savoring and devouring her at once. She wasn’t aware she’d raised her head and arched eagerly into him until her arms wound tightly around his neck and she pressed her body into his. His hands prowled over her hips then his thumb grazed her nipple.

Despite the cool water in the creek, sensual fire shot through her, searing her inside and out. When his hand shifted to her buttocks to pull her against the rigid length of his arousal, another blast of heat bombarded her and unappeased desire sizzled through her. Teasing her. Tormenting her. Tempting her beyond bearing.

Brazenly, she reached between them to trace his hard length. She wanted to explore his body as completely as he’d explored hers one dark and steamy night in the barn. When he growled deep in his throat and surged toward her, she shifted against him. Then he eased her thighs apart with his knees and settled between her legs.

She wondered what it would be like to feel him moving provocatively against her without a barrier of wet clothing separating them. She wondered how his sinewy flesh and his hard arousal would feel beneath her hands…between her lips….

The deliciously wicked thought prompted her to clamp her hands on his buttocks and squirm to settle him exactly above her. When she took the initiative, he suddenly jerked away and glared at her. The mood shattered like broken glass.

“Is that how you convinced Glenn to unlock your cuffs and accompany you during your escape?” he muttered as he clamped his hand around her wrist and pulled her upright in the shallows.

“Certainly not!” she huffed indignantly.

He hauled her none too gently to her feet and kept a vise grip on her forearm, in case she tried to make a break for it. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“Because you’re a stubborn billy goat of a man.”

“And you are the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met!”

“At least I’m
something
to you,” she snapped then ignored him the best she could—which wasn’t easy because the big galoot refused to let her go.

G
ideon cursed himself a dozen times over for surrendering—again, damn it—to his irrational desire for this spirited firebrand. Didn’t he have any shame, any pride or common sense? What flaws of character left him lusting after a fugitive that
his own brother
had likely bedded when he stumbled into her conniving scheme to gain his assistance?

“Why didn’t you whistle at your horse right off, instead of firing that shot at me?” she demanded as she squirmed for freedom. “And what is wrong with you! You could have killed your own horse when you barely missed me with that bullet!”

“If I’d have wanted to hit you, believe me, I would have,” Gideon assured her tartly. “That was just a warning shot. The reason I didn’t whistle at Pirate right away was that I gave you a chance to surrender when I ordered you to. You failed another test.”

Gideon towed her with him as he strode over to Pirate, who grazed on the tender spring grasses beside the creek
bed. He grabbed a coil of rope from his saddlebag to bind her hands. She glowered at him but he was too distracted by the wet clothing that clung to her curvaceous body like paint. Lusty desire tried to overwhelm him again but he resisted as best he could.

He usually had more self-control than to drool over a woman, especially one who had so many condemning strikes against her.

“And another thing,” she fumed. “How dare you force
my
horse down that steep slope! I’m surprised you and Drifter didn’t wind up with broken necks.”

“How dare you
steal
my horse,” he countered as he led her over to Drifter then secured her in the saddle. “Now you’re wanted for murder, horse thieving, escape, resisting arrest, assaulting a law enforcement officer—”

“Assault!”
she crowed. “You nearly drowned me!”

He wouldn’t have gone that far, no matter how irritated he’d been with her. But he’d never tell her that. He was trying to break her defiancé, but he wasn’t sure that was possible. The woman was bursting with more sass and spirit than any female he’d ever met.

“You clobbered me a couple of times while attempting escape, remember? And then again today,” he reminded her as he mounted Pirate. “Every time I test you I realize you can be provoked to violence.
That
is assault on an officer.”

“And what do you call holding my head underwater?”

“Subduing a defiant fugitive.”

“You were trying to drown me so don’t deny it,” she shot back angrily. “There were a few moments when I wondered if dying wasn’t preferable to dealing with the likes of you.” She glared at him good and hard. “And do not
ever
demand that I say I love you again, as your twisted version of crying
uncle. Hell will be frozen over for a century before you hear that sentiment from me!”

She was so annoyed that her face pulsed with color. She continued to glare murderously at him—which did nothing to convince him of her innocence.

“Give me your gun,” she demanded abruptly.

He arched a brow. “Why? So you can shoot me?”

“No. I’ve decided to shoot myself. Dealing with you is more than I can bear.”

“It wasn’t a few minutes ago while we were lying in the shallows—”

“Don’t you dare mention that ever again!” she shouted at him as her face went up in flames.

“Fine.”

The thought of what they had been doing with each other in the shallows reminded him that she’d tried to use him the same arousing way she’d used Glenn to coerce him into aiding and abetting her escape. The thought made Gideon scowl. He had never shared a woman with one of his brothers and he wasn’t starting now.

Gideon lapsed into silence as he led the way along the creek, heading upstream to the lean-to where Glenn had captured the horse thieves. He didn’t have to look back to know his spirited fugitive was silently seething. He could practically feel her burning gaze boring into him. However, he still believed
he
had more right to be angry than
she
did.

“Ah, finally. A friendly face,” she remarked. “Here is someone who treats me with kindness and respect.”

Gideon gnashed his teeth when Glenn glanced up and frowned in concern—probably trying to discern what shape his ladylove was in. When his gaze roamed over her soggy clothing, Gideon battled down the ridiculous feeling of possessiveness that sizzled through him.

“What did you do to her?” Glenn demanded.

Not as much as you probably did,
Gideon mused grudgingly. He hated harboring jealousy against his little brother and he blamed Lori for the tormenting feelings hounding him.

“For starters he tried to drown me,” she tattled.

Glenn jerked upright and shot Gideon a disparaging glance. “Why’d you do that?”

“Because she was escaping on my horse.” Gideon dismounted but he was careful not to loosen his grasp on Drifter’s reins—in case Lori tried to thunder off, forcing him to give chase again.

He glanced at Glenn who was staring with masculine appreciation at Lori’s wet, clinging clothes. “Show some manners and stop gaping at her,” he quietly scolded Glenn.

“I’m not looking at her any differently than you are.”

The comment made Gideon grumble under his breath. He was going to have to try harder to remain immune and impassive in Lori’s presence. But it was nearly impossible when she triggered so many conflicting emotions.

Gideon pulled Lori from her horse, then frowned curiously when she stared intently at the two men Glenn had tied to a tree. Although their backs were to her, he could practically feel the tension coming off her in waves.

“You know them, don’t you?” he guessed accurately.

She glanced at him for a moment then nodded hesitantly. “Sonny Hathaway and Teddy Collins are the two men Widow Burgess sent to apprehend me. Since I eluded them, they must have decided to take up a new line of work. Now that the widow’s husband and foreman are dead, I expect she’ll sell the stage station and ranch. These lazy hired hands will be out of work.”

Lori glanced the other way and muttered in frustration.
Nothing Sonny and Teddy could say would convince Gideon that she was telling the truth. The men hadn’t actually witnessed the bushwhacking, but Gideon preferred to believe the absolute worst about her at every turn. Honestly, she didn’t know why he tried so hard to dislike her and why his opinion mattered to her. It shouldn’t…but it did, damn it.

She held her breath when Gideon strode deliberately toward the stringy-haired captives. “Are you acquainted with Lorelei Russell?” he asked without preamble.

Both men nodded.

Sonny, who had taken a shot in the leg, massaged his thigh, grimacing at the pain caused by the slightest movement. “Widow Burgess said Lorelei shot Tony. She sent us to track Lorelei down, but she hid so well we couldn’t find her.”

“So the widow saw Lorelei shoot your foreman?” Gideon questioned intently.

Teddy lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “I suppose.”

“She saw nothing,” Lori insisted. “Maggie came running from the opposite side of the barn, near the stage station,
after
the sniper’s bullet struck Tony. The only shot I fired was into the underbrush, hoping to hit the bushwhacker.”

She doubted Gideon believed her, but this was the first time he had listened to her explanation. She wasn’t shutting up until she conveyed her version of the story. “Maggie was upset when she realized Tony died and she assumed I was to blame. She grabbed Tony’s second pistol from his holster and tried to shoot me, so I ran.”

Gideon glanced at Sonny and Teddy for corroboration. Both men shrugged noncommittally.

“Sonny and Teddy didn’t see what happened. Maggie shouted at them to fetch their horses,” Lori reported.

“That’s true,” Teddy confirmed. “I don’t know if Maggie
shot at Lori or vice versa. We heard gunfire before Maggie told us to mount up. We lit out but we lost Lori’s trail.”

“So you decided to pass along your misfortune of losing your fugitive by stealing horses and shooting one of the owners,” Gideon growled harshly.

Teddy and Sonny clammed up. Not that Lori blamed them. Gideon’s glowers could melt rock. He could be extremely intimidating when the mood suited him. Now he reminded her of the scarecrow of doom pecking away at the newly damned.

“The man you shot was my brother,” Gideon snarled.

“It was self-defense,” Sonny insisted hurriedly.

“No, it wasn’t.” Glenn strode up in front of the prisoners. “The other man you shot at was
me,
and our brother only fired a warning shot over your heads.”

Leaving the captives to themselves, Gideon and Glenn strode off, bookending Lori as they went. “What are you going to do with her?” Glenn asked.

Gideon stared at her pensively, noting the red-gold hair that lay in curlicues around her lovely face. Although her clothing had begun to dry, it still accentuated her alluring figure. She kept glancing back and forth between him and Glenn and he wondered which one she’d choose as her companion, if given a choice.

As if he didn’t know, Gideon thought with a smirk. Glenn was the one who catered to her, fussed over her…and no telling what else happened during their cross-country trek. Gideon didn’t want to start speculating again. The prospects never failed to rile him.

“There’s something you should know,” Glenn blurted out hurriedly. “I told Lori last night that I was going to hunt for our missing horses. Naturally she offered to come along and help me overtake the thieves.”

Gideon barked a laugh. “You are a pathetic liar, little brother. Try again. With the
truth
this time.”

“All right,” Glenn grumbled, dropping his head to stare at his booted feet. “Lori was in tears because you treated her so abominably. I volunteered to take her back to the scene of the crime so she could look for evidence to prove there was a bushwhacker hiding in the bushes.”

“So now it’s
my
fault you broke the law to help her?” Gideon asked incredulously.

“You’re the one who taught me that a man was obligated to right a wrong,” Glenn reminded him. “I think you’ve been unnecessarily hard on Lori and so do Sarah and Galen. We think she might be innocent and just ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. She deserves the chance to clear her name and I’m taking her home to do just that.”

Lori smiled gratefully. “Thank you for your vote of confidence, Glenn. At least someone around here believes me.”

Gideon was quick to note that Lori had never smiled at him with such grateful appreciation.

“You’re welcome, honey,” Glenn said then he turned to Gideon. “I suggest you take the horse thieves who wounded Galen and return them to marshal headquarters. I’ll accompany Lori.”

Gideon snorted his disapproval at the suggestion.

“If I were a Deputy U.S. Marshal, I’d get all my facts straight before I convicted an innocent woman of a brutal crime,” Glenn added pointedly.

“No way in hell am I going to allow you to escort Lori,” Gideon said in a no-nonsense tone. “You’ve been too lenient already. You have less sympathy for the men who shot Galen, so
you
and your prisoners are going to swing by our ranch to check on Sarah and Galen and catch
up on the chores. Then you can haul these horse thieves to marshal headquarters.”

Glenn stared warily at Gideon then glanced at Lori. “I’ll agree, only if you promise to be kind and considerate to her.”

Gideon snorted. “I’m not mollycoddling a prisoner.” In truth, he was afraid to let his guard down with this flame-haired beauty, for fear he’d become as sappy and gullible as his kid brother.

“Perhaps you could start with civility and common courtesy,” Lori suggested flippantly. “For instance, if you had the slightest concern about my well-being you’d allow me to change into my skirt and peasant blouse that Sarah was so kind to loan to me. Then I wouldn’t be standing here with goose bumps because you saw to it that Pirate dumped me in the creek and you held me down until I…
cried uncle.
”

Gideon and Lori exchanged significant glances while Glenn’s gaze bounced back and forth between them.

“Will you be nice to Gideon if he’s nice to you?” he negotiated.

She tilted her chin. “If I
must.
”

“Do
you
promise, Gid?” Glenn persisted. “Word of honor.
Osage
word of honor. Not the white men’s version of promising something then taking it back when they decide they want it for themselves. And they call it Indian giving,” he added with a disgusted snort. Then he smiled apologetically at Lori. “No offense, honey.”

“None taken from
you,
Glenn.”

Then she stared deliberately at Gideon.

Gideon frowned in annoyance when Glenn patted Lori on the shoulder. “You let me know if Gid doesn’t treat you right, hon. I’ll come running as soon as I can.”

Gideon observed his brother’s familiar touch on Lori. Then he glanced into those jewel-like eyes, embedded in
a bewitching face. He knew he couldn’t be too kind and considerate while he was trying so damn hard to resist the woman he was afraid to believe, afraid to trust because she tugged so fiercely on his emotions.

He wanted to know if she had slept with Glenn after Gideon had walked away unappeased two nights earlier. The speculations were killing him, bit by frustrating bit. However, he refused to pose the question to Lori. He didn’t trust her to tell him the truth. He felt too awkward putting the question to his brother, so he held his tongue and suffered in silence.

“Well, Gideon?” Glenn pressed, demanding a promise.

“I’m still thinking it over,” Gideon said as he shifted his gaze to Lori once again. “How nice do I have to be?”

Honestly,
thought Lori as she watched Glenn wave goodbye then lead away the string of horses and the two prisoners. Getting Gideon Fox to agree to be polite to her was worse than pulling teeth. She stared contemplatively at the brawny lawman whose raven hair gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. She was torn between her unreasonable desire to be with him and her sensible need to have Glenn at her side instead during the trek to the trading post and stage station. As if she’d had a choice!