Texas Rose TH2 (39 page)

The tapes at her waist parted easily, and the hoops and petticoat fell with the gown to her feet. She ought to be shaking in her shoes by now, but she merely stepped over the puddle of material and reached for his shirt.

Tyler stared in astonishment as Evie grabbed his shirt front and ripped until the remaining buttons flew across the room. When she attempted the same trick on his trouser front, he gave a curt laugh and caught her waist, throwing her toward the bed.

Half on and half off the bed, she kicked as he fell down on top of her, but she wasn't trying hard enough. Tyler settled himself between her legs to keep from being maimed, then caught her flailing hands above her head as he reached for her chemise.

Evie gasped as the thin material fell in two, exposing her nakedness. She had known what she was doing when she started, but the hard bulge pressing between her legs now sent shivers through her. This wasn't the laughing, charming Tyler leaning over her now. This was the Tyler who had taken her that first time. She didn't know what to expect from this Tyler.

He still had his trousers and boots on, but his tattered shirt had been discarded to the floor. Up close, the golden-brown breadth of his chest held her fascinated, but he wasn't allowing her to touch. She wriggled in frustration as he bent to draw one breast into his mouth.

There wasn't any reasoning after that. Evie cried out her ecstasy at the touch of Tyler's tongue, and he moved to cover her mouth with his kisses. His tongue plundered and invaded, and she pushed herself upward to better take him. His hand loosened its grip on hers, and she tangled her fingers in his hair, grabbing it by the roots and holding him in place until both their mouths were bruised and hurting.

His hands closed over her breasts, molding them, driving her wild until he turned his mouth to suckling at them. Alternately weeping and moaning, Evie dug her fingers into Tyler's ribs and tried to force him away or force him closer. She finally found his trouser buttons and began tearing at them recklessly.

Her frantic fingers decimated what remained of Tyler's control. Ripping at the heavy cloth, he pulled the flap open until he felt the freedom of release. To his shock, she grabbed him, but not for long. His hand had already untied the opening in her pantalets, and he spread her legs wide to position her. All other thoughts fled as he felt her lift her hips to welcome him and tasted her moistness with his fingertips. There was only one place he wanted to be, and he was almost there.

Evie cried out as Tyler entered her, but he was too far gone to hold back now. Cupping her bottom, he drew her roughly against him until he was situated as deeply as he could go. Then he pulled back and repeated the motion until she was writhing and screaming beneath him, just the way he wanted her to be.

And then she was exploding around him, her muscles tensing and holding him captive and milking him until he could hold back no longer. With a curse and a sigh of relief, Tyler buried himself and his demons deep within her.

Chapter 30

"I'm sorry, Evie," Tyler whispered, spreading her hair across the mattress with his fingers before kissing her cheek and reluctantly getting up. He surveyed the destruction of the room and ran his hand through his own hair in a gesture of confusion and dismay.

Becoming aware of her wanton position, Evie gingerly sat up and pulled the bedcover around her. Still shaken by the riot of emotions Tyler had set loose, she could only watch as he visibly pulled himself together.

"Sorry for what?" she murmured. She felt odd, as if everything she had thought she was had disappeared, replaced by some stranger.

Tyler's expression was wry as he faced her. She looked deliciously rumpled with her chestnut curls tumbling down over partially bared breasts and her lovely face wearing a dazed look that made him want to tumble her again, this time with a whole lot more tenderness. He resisted pulling her out of the bed and taking her in his arms.

He gestured with his hand instead. "Stop a minute and listen."

Totally attuned to Tyler, Evie had ignored their surroundings. At his words, she took the time to realize where they were and what they had done. It was the middle of the day and half the town had seen her coming up here. She could hear voices down the hall. She heard footsteps in the room above this one. She heard someone coughing. Slowly, a flush rose to her cheeks.

Seeing that hint of color, Tyler shoved his hands in his pockets and walked to the window. "We weren't exactly quiet," he mentioned, as if she needed to be reminded.

"I'm sorry," Evie whispered. She flushed even deeper as a vague memory of how loud she had been came to her.

Tyler swung around, and a bit of his usual grin clung to his lips. "Don't be. I like knowing I'm appreciated. And with you, I know it's no act. You don't know how good that makes a man feel."

Evie buried her cheeks in the bedcover, but she smiled back. Tyler couldn't resist any longer. It was obvious he had spent what self-control he possessed. Why fight it any longer? He sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms. None of this was her fault. She was a sprite from another world given into his protection. He had failed at that as he had failed at almost everything else, but right at the moment he didn't feel sorry.

"We'll have to tell them we're married, Evie. They'll whisper and wonder and gossip, but you'll be able to stay here and keep your teaching position as long as they think we're respectably married."

Evie nodded against his shoulder, but a lump came to fill her throat. "What about you? You didn't want to be married. And I didn't do anything to prevent babies like Starr told me to. I didn't mean to tie you down, Tyler. Honest, I didn't."

Tyler looked down at her in amazement. "Starr told you about those things? She ought to be taken out and shot. I'm going to have to have a word or two with that woman." He stroked Evie's lovely hair and tried to imagine having babies with her. The thought was too tempting by far. He sighed and held her close. "Chances are that one time won't make a baby. We need to talk about making a marriage first."

A pounding on the door jerked them away from that frightening thought. Tyler scowled and called, "Go away."

"Open up, Monteigne. I want to talk to you, and I want to talk to you now." The sheriff's voice carried enough authority to make the badge he wore a formality.

"Your timing is not auspicious, Powell. I'll be out shortly."

"Now. And if you've got Mrs. Peyton in there, I want to see her out here, too. You can't get away with molesting innocent women in this town, Monteigne."

Tyler cursed, rose from the bed to grab his shirt, and discovering it's lack of buttons, threw it on the floor again. "I hope your job is an elected one, Powell. I'm going to have you run out of town for invasion of privacy. What my wife and I do behind closed doors is none of your affair."

Ignoring Evie's corset and torn chemise, Tyler threw her gown to her while he rummaged in drawers for a clean shirt. The stunned silence from the other side of the door gave them a few moments' reprieve.

Evie wriggled into her gown, but Tyler hadn't been gentle with the fastenings, and without her corset, it didn't fit properly. She felt scandalously bare with nothing beneath it and the back gaping open. She hurriedly pulled up her petticoats while Tyler put on his shirt.

She thought she recognized the lawyer's stilted, furious whispers on the other side of the door. She remembered leaving Hale in the hotel lobby. He would have been the one to send for the sheriff. Sighing, she accepted Tyler's offer of a coat to go over her gown. It might be ninety degrees in the sun, but she couldn't go out the door with her dress open.

"Are you coming out of there, Monteigne, or am I coming in?" The sheriff had evidently recovered his self-possession, not to mention a load of anger.

Still tucking in his shirt, Tyler flung open the door. He blocked any sight of the interior with his body as he faced his audience. Hale stood white-faced and furious just behind Powell. Everyone else had evidently chosen to stand out of range of a potentially dangerous killer.

"What has he done with Mrs. Peyton? The man is a menace, Sheriff. You'd better lock him up until we find out what's going on. I don't believe for a minute that they're married. I've talked to Mrs. Peyton myself. She's a young, innocent widow, and this man is obviously trying to take advantage of her."

Tyler lifted a cynical brow at the lawyer's tirade, then turned affably to the sheriff. "My wife has that effect on men." He shrugged in dismissal of Hale. "I'll be happy to tell you what I know about this afternoon's incident, Sheriff, but it doesn't require an audience. And Mrs. Monteigne would like to return to the children, if you don't mind."

Hale puffed up like a banty rooster. "I insist on speaking with Mrs. Peyton. She's by way of being my client, and as her attorney, I must insist on seeing her."

Having found enough pins to shove her hair into a caricature of a chignon, Evie came up behind Tyler and peered around him. She smiled at their audience, fluttered her lashes, and grasped Tyler's arm. "Gentlemen, you are embarrassing me enormously. Could you please wait until another time to interrogate Tyler? I have to get back to the children."

Tyler stifled a chuckle as the two men visibly blanched and stepped backward. Men might stand up to a man's weapons, but they fell before a woman's without a qualm. It was absolutely amazing what the power of a woman could do.

"I'll see you safely back to the house, Mrs. Pey—" the sheriff hesitated as Tyler shifted position—"Mrs. Monteigne. Then, if you don't mind, I'd like to borrow your husband for a while. I've got one man dead and another seriously injured, and I need some kind of report."

"I understand that, sir, and you deserve some explanations. It's a pity we don't have many." Evie tugged Tyler's arm and reluctantly, he stepped into the hall to follow the sheriff toward the back steps.

Tyler halted and glared at Hale when he attempted to follow. "As you can see, Mr. Hale, my wife doesn't need your assistance. We'll let you know if we need your services."

Hale glared back. "If she's married to you, the lady came to me under false pretenses. I think I deserve some explanation."

"When we're ready to give one, we might consider it. Until then, I'm asking you to leave, Hale. This is none of your affair." Tyler pulled Evie possessively to his side.

Evie glanced around Tyler's broad shoulders to smile her regret at the lawyer. "I'm so sorry if I've misled you, sir. It's a long story. Maybe we'll have time to talk later."

Tyler rolled his eyes heavenward, then dragged Evie toward the stairs. How in hell had he got himself hitched to a temptress who would inevitably attract every man within a fifty-mile radius? It was fitting punishment for his wandering ways, he supposed, but he didn't know how he would keep from killing every one of them.

Not wishing to follow where that thought led, Tyler started down the stairs. He'd get her back to where she would be surrounded by kids. He'd noticed she never looked at a man when the kids were around. That was the safest place for her to be.

When they arrived at the little house, Jose threw himself into Evie's arms, Daniel emitted an audible sigh of relief, and Ben discreetly removed himself from the scene with the entrance of the sheriff. Evie took a rocking chair and pulled Jose into her lap, hugging him close, and he surprisingly allowed it.

Maria wandered to Tyler and pulled on his pants leg. He scowled down at her, but she smiled almost as convincingly as Evie. "Tywer, up," she commanded.

Tyler glanced helplessly to Evie.

"She just wants to be picked up and held, like anybody would after a day like this."

Tyler scowled blacker as he read the significance of Evie's words in the flashing look of her dark eyes. But he leaned over and picked up the little imp. Maria crowed with delight and snuggled against his shoulder as if she belonged there.

The sheriff coughed, and Manuel eyed him with a degree of speculation, keeping a safe distance from the hand of authority. Carmen caught his shoulder before he could back off any farther.

"I don't mean to impose on your family, Monteigne." The sheriff didn't notice the sudden look of interest passing between several members of that "family." "But I've got a report to write. The city board will have my job if I don't explain this shooting to their satisfaction."