Demanding Satisfaction [Bride Train 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (34 page)

“Sophie?” he yelled.

If she replied, it was too faint to be heard over the roaring of blood in his ears. She had to be near the dim pool of light across the cellar. He dashed down the narrow hall. There was only one doorway, at the end. The light came from there. He stopped, looking into the room. Sophie, gloriously naked, faced him. Knife in hand, she knelt on one knee by the end of the bed. A sweeping glance showed no blood, no bruises, no raw wounds.

He hauled air into his starved lungs. His woman was safe. Life could go on.

He hunkered down to be less of a threat. He wasn’t sure she knew who he was. He shoved aside a pile of rags and slowly moved into the room. She held the knife poised to slice open his belly. She snarled at him like a wildcat, her hair in such a mess it would take him hours to comb out. Days.

No, he prayed, let it take weeks
. We’ll lie in bed the whole time
.

“I love my warrior woman,” he said. His hoarse voice filled the room. Sophie blinked.

“Josh?”

The frightened little girl voice was so at odds to the ferocious woman that he had to smile. He moved, slow and sure, to crouch before her.

“Give me the knife, baby,” he crooned. “I’ve got you now. Nobody’s going to hurt you. Never, ever. You’re mine.”

She looked up and met his eyes. At first she couldn’t focus. Then she saw him. Really saw him.

“You came.” Her voice trembled, as did her chin.

“Always. Did you get him good?”

She nodded, chin wobbling. He waited, showing his approval of her with his eyes and smile.

“Tess put a poker in the fire. I grabbed it and stabbed him in the face. It sizzled and burned a hole.”

“That’s my woman. Where did the poker go?”

He didn’t want either of them to step on it. She waved the knife toward the far wall. The hot end of the poker had singed the floor, but nothing more had happened.

“We got him, Sophie. Thanks to you.” He held out his hand, palm up, fingers loose. “You can give me the knife now.”

“Knife?” Her eyebrows tried to touch.

“The one in your hand.”

She looked down. Her eyes widened. It clattered to the floor. He swept it under the bed. He sat on the floor, leaned his back against the corner of the bed, and hauled her into his arms. He held her as close as he could, inhaling the scent of her. He kissed her head, about the only part he could reach with her curled in his lap. He held her, needing to know she was safe. Never, ever again would he allow her to be put in danger.

“I’m glad you hurt him,” he murmured into her hair. “You hurt him bad. Everyone will see the hole in his cheek and know why it’s there. He’ll never be able to hide.” He kissed her head again. “Thanks to you, Molly and Sarah and all the other women will be able to sleep.”

“He hurt Tess. A lot.” She looked up. Though her chin trembled she glared with vengeance. “I hope he takes a long, long time to die. And that there’s pieces of him missing when his heart finally stops.”

“Any parts in particular?” he joked, proud of her reaction.

Her smile started slowly but ended up wide. He winced, making her laugh. His tension eased. She’d been through something terrifying, but she’d done well. She was alive, unhurt, and feisty. Dang, she was fine!

“I love you, Sophie McLeod. Marry me.”

She tilted her head and frowned. “Marry? Why?”

“Because I can’t live without you.” He closed his eyes, unwilling to see if she still frowned. “Yes, I want you in our bed and in our home. You’re part of me. Here.” He guided her hand to where his heart beat like the pounding of a longhorn stampede.

He’d been in hell all that time she was gone, pretending to be drunk while his woman waited, helpless, for a monster to attack her. He was proud at her determination, but she was never, ever, going to do something so dangerous again!

What if he’d lost her? He jammed his eyes closed. It didn’t stop the tears from leaking onto his cheeks. He bowed his head.

“Waiting for that sick bastard to go to you nearly killed me.”

A soft touch on his cheek made him open his eyes. She sucked her tear-covered finger into her mouth. She gave him a look that had his cock harder than wood in seconds.

“I knew you’d come, no matter what,” she said. “You, and Max, and Sam.”

“Never again.” He emphasized his words by staring deep in her eyes. “You will never, ever, put yourself in danger again.”

“I needed to do this, Josh,” she replied. Her words were quiet but intense. “I needed to do it for myself, and for the other women that never had a chance to fight back.”

“Why, Sophie?” She frowned, worrying her bottom lip. “I love you. You can tell me anything.” He tilted her chin up to look directly into her eyes. “Whatever is in our pasts helped create who we are. It’s not something to be ashamed of.” He kissed her forehead, telling her with his gentle touch that nothing would change his mind about her.

“I was seventeen when my stepfather killed my mother,” she whispered. She hesitated, so he gave her a gentle squeeze of encouragement. “He told everyone she tripped over her skirts and fell, hitting her head on the stove. But I saw him smash her head against the corner of it. Then he smiled.”

“There’s more, isn’t there?” She was so tense she could hardly breathe. “You survived that, and this. Best to let it all out.” Though his heart pounded, he waited patiently. He would do anything for her.

“My father owned a hotel. We had a few small rooms behind the kitchen. Though he worked hard, he was always there. He made my mother and me laugh, and was a favorite with the customers.”

Her fingers tightened on his shirt.

“I was sixteen when he died. Three men jumped him on the street. My mother and I did what we could to keep our hotel going, but my mother said she needed a man to help. Mr. Spencer was a guest who’d moved in shortly after the funeral. He took an interest in my mother, and the hotel. She decided he would do. I didn’t like the way he looked at me, but she refused to listen to my fears. She said a woman wasn’t safe alone.

“The day after my mother’s funeral I was outside when I heard his voice through the open window. He was telling someone about his plans to sell me to the highest bidder. He’d made a special room in the cellar just for me.” She shuddered. “I hate cellars.”

Josh winced, realizing just how much courage it had taken her to wait for Isaac in the dark, damp room.

“He said the room had a bed and a thick door with a lock on the outside. No one would hear my screams. If anyone asked where I’d gone, he’d say I was so upset at my mother’s death that I’d gone to stay with relatives.”

“Is that when you got married?”

“Yes. Amos McLeod was a kindly older man living at the hotel. He’d been there a few weeks. We’d play checkers now and then. I ran to him, blubbering. He married me that night. A few words transferred the ownership of my body from my stepfather, to my husband.”

“And he brought you to Tanner’s Ford, where you were safe.”

Her chin wobbled. “I think Mr. Spencer arranged my father’s death so he could get hotel. I loved my father. He died and we were left alone.” Tears formed behind her lashes.

“I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you. But if you marry me, and something happens, you’ll still have two men to protect you and our children.” He kissed her tears. She looked up. “Thanks to you, Sophie, I know what love feels like. I will cherish you with my heart, my soul, and my body. I will protect you and our children, and provide for our family. And I will love you forever, no matter what.”

He waited. New tears glistened on the brown eyes a few inches from his own.

“You love me?” she whispered.

“If it means wanting to be boiled in oil rather than have a hair on your head harmed, then yes.”

He kissed that precious head. He hoped Sophie’s wide eyes and quivering chin meant she wanted him as much. But he didn’t want her tears. He wanted her laughter, and her lust.

“What about Sam and Max?” she asked.

He grimaced. “I guess I love them since they’re my brothers, but don’t tell them that. It might make them uppity.”

It took her a moment to see he was joking. Then she punched his chest. He pretended it hurt. She glowered, but he saw how her eyes sparkled and the corners of her mouth twitched.

“You know what I mean. About them wanting me, too,” she said.

“We’re brothers. We’ll work it out.”

Her smile faded. She looked down and traced a pattern on his chest. “Where will we live? Will you take over my hotel?”

Her stepfather had killed her parents to gain possession of her, and their property. There was a lot more to what she was asking than where they’d put their bed. But this was the tricky part. He knew she loved being a businesswoman. Hotel keeping was in her blood. But he was not going to be woken from his bed because some guest wanted more coal. He and his brothers were men of action. They loved being outdoors.

“Sophie, I am not the type of man to cater to others. I would like you to sell the hotel. You’ll keep that money for yourself, of course. My brothers and I have enough saved to buy a ranch and build a cabin.”

Her wide brown eyes stared at him. Would she object to losing her business? She’d been on her own for a long time. But he didn’t want to share her with guests. He wanted her in their home, not an impersonal set of rooms.

“Where?”

Josh winced. Max said he’d take care of finding a ranch for them. Josh had asked, but Max refused to discuss it until they finished this job. His oldest brother’s “one thing at a time” sometimes made him furious. This was one of those times.

“I’d hoped we could buy that ranch east of town, the one Rivers used to own. But Trace said he already had a buyer. He refused to tell me who it was.” He squeezed her fingers. “I know you want to live near your friends, baby. We’ll find something close enough so you can visit.”

She leaned against him, saying nothing. He tensed, hoping all his plans had not gone down the hole. He looked at the sweet bundle in his lap. She was so comfortable with him that she didn’t seemed to care she’d been attacked by a rogue, had defended herself mightily, and was now cuddled in his lap, naked.

This was what he wanted. Sophie, wanting and needing him. Her complete confidence in him.

What did it matter where they lived, or what he did? He couldn’t live without her. Max might like to use the hotel as a posting station, picking up information and passing it on like Mrs. Potter. Sam liked talking and would enjoy all the people that came to a hotel.

But Josh hated being confined. With his brothers busy inside the hotel, maybe he could find a job doing something outside. Someone had to go to Bannack City, or even Virginia City, to buy supplies for the hotel. Maybe he could work with the Tanners to pick up what the mercantile needed as well.

That meant he’d have to be away from Sophie sometimes, but his brothers would care for her when he was gone. And when he got back she’d welcome him home with open arms.

Home. A safe place filled with people he loved, who loved him in return. That was all that mattered. He released one dream, and embraced another. If running a hotel is what it took to have Sophie in his life, he’d darn well make it work!

“It’s okay, baby,” he whispered. “If you want to keep the hotel, I’ll learn to be nice to our guests.” He kissed her head. “Most of the time,” he added, trying to get a smile out of her.

He waited, but she still didn’t speak.

“You’d do that for me?” She bit her lip and sniffed. “You’d give up your dream of owning a ranch to take care of miserable, complaining fools?”

He inhaled, hauling air deep as if he’d been underwater for minutes, unable to breath.

“I want you, Sophie. Any way I can have you. If that means running a hotel—”

She scrambled around until she sat on his lap, her arms around his neck. She looked up at him with sparkling eyes. Her lovely breasts bobbed just below his chin.

“No, Josh.”

“No?” His heart stopped. Was she refusing to marry him?

“No hotel. I want a home, one I share only with my family. I’ve never had that. Never.” She kissed him, a quick peck on the lips. “I only kept the hotel because I had nothing else. Now I have you.” Another peck. “And Max and Sam. I’ve been wanting to sell the hotel for ages. And about buying that ranch Rivers owned, I—”

“To hell with that! Dammit, Sophie, will you marry me or not?”

“Yes!”

“Oh, thank God!”

He hauled her tight. It was either that or strip off his pants and take her right there on the floor. She felt so damn good in his arms.

“I’m taking you back to Tanner’s Ford so Judge Thatcher can marry us.”

“I thought you couldn’t get married until you resigned from the Pinkertons?”

“We caught Isaac and the railroad has Smythe. We’ll grab the Jennets when we’re in Tanner’s Ford. Max can take them East. He can report to Mr. Pinkerton personally and ask for us to be relieved of our duties. I don’t have to be there. Not when I have to take care of my new bride.”

Josh captured a breast, unable to resist the tempting flesh. She arched her back like a cat, encouraging him. Soon, Sophie would belong to him in law. Just as he would belong to her, body and soul. When Max heard he would bluster that he was the oldest brother and so should be Sophie’s legal husband.