Quicksilver Passion (8 page)

Cherokee loosened his grip and turned slowly. The gorilla-like man with the face like five miles of bad road had the shotgun cocked and ready to blow Cherokee in half. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes. Al adored the blonde more than enough to kill for her.

Cherokee kept his hands where the other man could see them.
I never meant no harm,” he drawled softly.
I didn’t know—”

If you want a girl, mister, there’s plenty here who’d take you upstairs. Every man in the Rockies knows Silver don’t allow no man to touch her!”

She made a soothing gesture.
It’s all right, Al. I suspect the boys played a trick on him.” She gave Cherokee one last, searching look, then turned and went back to the stage. Cherokee couldn’t keep his gaze off her undulating hips moving in the tight red satin. Al put down the shotgun, reached for his bottle of tonic, took a big drink, and moved farther down the bar.

Zeke scratched his beard.
Sorry, hombre, we play that joke on a lot of greenhorns. Hope you don’t mind.”

Mind? By damn! He’d like to kill the man for humiliating him like that. But his major emotion was sadness and loss that she wouldn’t be sleeping in his arms tonight. To Doc, he said,
Does she really own this saloon?”

Yep. Silver and that bartender got off a stage a year ago and she bought the place. Paid cold, hard cash, I hear.”

Cherokee watched her talk to the bald piano player.
Where’d they come from?”

Nobody knows. In the mining camps, it ain’t polite to ask too many questions.”

Cherokee rolled a cigarette and lit it. He never took his gaze off the girl as he slowly shook out the match.
Does any man ... well, does she ever . . .”

Cherokee looked around at the men at the bar and knew the answer from the longing and regret on their weathered faces even before they shook their heads. Obviously Silver affected other men the same way she affected him.

Cherokee watched her. She was a fire in Cherokee’s blood now—as desirable and unattainable as any queen. The fact that he hadn’t lain between a woman’s thighs in months only added to the fire in his veins, making his groin ache with pent-up seed.

With a sinking heart, he looked around at the elegant saloon. The whore had more wealth than he did. Add to that the fact that he knew he was a rough, backwoods half-breed without a white man’s polished manners, and he realized that even if he’d had plenty of gold, she wouldn’t be interested in him anyway.

The pretty, yellow-haired whore sidled up to him again.
Buy me a drink now, sugar?”

Cherokee tore his gaze away from Silver. His body ached for the release of a woman’s body. He grabbed the whore’s arm, propelling her ahead of him.
Sweet darlin’, let’s the two of us go upstairs.”