The Outlaws: Jess (21 page)

Arlo Skully had already let his fist fly, but
Jess's timely intervention prevented it from connecting. Skully's
blow landed just short of Meg's face as Jess hauled him backward,
shook him like a rag doll, and tossed him to the floor. As Skully
lay there shaking his head to clear it, Jess pulled Meg into his
arms.

He searched her face. "Did the bastard hurt
you?"

Meg shook her head, too stunned by Jess's
appearance to reply.

"I came as soon as I heard."

"You knew Arlo was in town?" Meg asked,
finally finding her voice.

"I treated him in my office yesterday but
didn't realize he was the man who hurt you. I didn't know until the
sheriff told me just this morning that a gambler named Arlo Skully
was asking questions about you. I headed out here as soon as I
could."

He sent a menacing glance at Skully, who was
picking himself off the floor. "He
is
the same Arlo who hurt
you, isn't he?"

"I never thought I'd see him again," Meg said
shakily, "though Zach feared he'd show up one day."

"What in the hell is he to you?" Jess
demanded to know. "What did he do to you?"

"I believe I can answer that question,"
Skully said, dusting off his clothing. "Meg is my wife."

"Wife!" Skully's words sent Jess's world
spinning.

"No!" Meg shouted. "Not anymore. Our marriage
was annulled years ago."

"The annulment isn't legal," Skully declared.
"I knew nothing about it. All I know is that I have a document in
my possession that says we're husband and wife."

Meg's chin firmed. "And I have a document
saying our marriage ended years ago."

"You heard the lady," Jess barked. "Get the
hell out of here and don't come back."

Skully sent Meg a knowing smirk. "Is the doc
another of your lovers, Meg? You do spread your favors around,
don't you? That will have to stop. You're the one who needs to
leave, Gentry. My wife and I have things to...discuss."

Jess searched Meg's face. "Is that true, Meg?
Do you want to be alone with Skully?"

"Good God, no! I never want to set eyes on
him again. I hate him!"

"You heard the lady, Skully. I suggest you
leave before I throw you out."

Skully hesitated but a moment before reaching
for his gun. Jess saw Skully's overt movement downward and with
lightning speed drew his own weapon before Skully's hand reached
the butt of his gun. Skully paled, his gaze trained on Jess's
six-shooter.

"How in the hell did you do that? You're a
doctor, not a gunslinger."

"I can be many things when the need arises.
My brothers and I perfected quick draws when we were boys down on
the family farm, trying to outperform one another."

Skully stared at Jess through narrowed lids.
"I know you from somewhere. One day I'll figure out where I've seen
you."

"We've never met," Jess insisted. "If you're
wise you'll leave town as soon as possible. Now get out. Only a
coward would bully a woman. It's obvious Meg wants nothing to do
with you."

"We'll see about that," Skully growled. "Meg
is my wife, nothing will change that."

Jess had taken all he could of Arlo Skully.
He started forward, intending to bodily toss Skully out the door,
but Arlo didn't wait for him. He turned and fled. Jess didn't relax
until he heard Skully's horse pounding down the road. Then he
turned back to Meg and pulled her into his arms.

"So that's Arlo," he said tightly. "Don't you
think it's time you told me about him?"

"Meg nodded jerkily. "I suppose, though in
truth that episode in my life is one I'd prefer to forget."

Jess lifted Meg into his arms and strode over
to the sofa. Then he sat down, arranging Meg on his lap. "Go ahead,
I'm all ears."

Meg grew quiet, wondering how to proceed. The
story was such a complicated and sordid one she didn't know where
to begin. She sucked in a deep breath and began at the
beginning.

"My parents were dirt poor farmers. I was the
eldest of eight children. We lived in a soddy near Pine Bluffs,
Nebraska. Arlo Skully was a professional gambler. He was passing
through town one day when he saw me with my father. He started
coming around to call on me. Shortly after that, Papa told me I was
to marry Mr. Skully. I learned later that Arlo offered Papa money
for me. No matter how much it hurts, it still boils down to the
fact that my parents sold me."

"Didn't your father know the man was a
gambler? That he wasn't the right kind of husband for an innocent
sixteen year old?"

Meg shrugged. "There were too many mouths to
feed and so little money. They thought Arlo would be good to me, I
suppose." She shuddered. "Papa thought that making Arlo marry me
before he took me away would make everything all right."

"But it didn't, did it, sweetheart?"

Meg shook her head. "Arlo swore to them that
he'd be a good husband. Unfortunately they didn't delve too deeply
into his character. I learned the hard way."

"Did you have nothing to say about marrying a
man you knew nothing about?"

She gave a bitter laugh. "I had no say
whatsoever. Arlo would have dragged me off had I refused. I hated
him when I learned he'd paid Papa for me. I tried to tell myself
the sacrifice was worth it, that the younger children wouldn't go
hungry during the long winter, but even that wasn't enough to make
up for the pain, the degradation, the utter hopelessness of my
situation."

"I should have killed him," Jess gritted.
"You should have been led into lovemaking gently."

Meg covered her face with her hands. Jess
pulled them away and looked deeply into her eyes. "You can tell me.
Perhaps you need to talk about it to make it go away."

"It will never go away," Meg vowed. "The town
was scarcely behind us when Arlo pulled the wagon into a stand of
trees and assaulted me. Nothing about that first time, or any other
time, could be called lovemaking."

A sob burst from her throat and she stood up,
turning away from he. He made no move to follow.

"What happened then?"

"We came to a town and Arlo decided to take a
room for us that night. He dragged me into a saloon offering rooms.
After booking a room, spied a poker game and decided to join in. I
wanted to go to our room but he refused to let me go, insisting
that I stay with him. I was so embarrassed I sat on a chair with my
hands folded and never looked up. I had no idea Arlo was losing
heavily until he pulled me forward and offered me as collateral
during the play of a hand."

"He lost," Jess guessed, clenching his fists
in outrage.

"He lost me to a man I'd never seen before. I
was to spend the night with Mr. Dunbar to repay his debt. When I
flatly refused, Arlo dragged me to our room and beat me nearly
senseless."

His hands tightened into fists. "The
bastard!"

"When Arlo left me, Mr. Dunbar came up to
claim his prize. I hadn't the energy to fight him, but when he
returned downstairs to purchase a bottle of whiskey, I found the
strength to flee. I was hurting and sick," she recalled. "For days
I wandered around in a daze, shunning travelers and towns. I don't
remember much about those terrifying days for I was delirious most
of the time.

"Exhausted beyond human endurance, dehydrated
and starving, I collapsed somewhere out on the prairie and would
have died if Zach hadn't found me, brought me to his home, and
nursed me back to health. I owe him my life."

"You never saw Skully again until today?"
Jess probed.

"He said he looked for me after I disappeared
but gave me up for dead after a few days."

"Did you really have your marriage
annulled?"

"Zach saw to it. A lawyer opened an office in
town about a year after I moved in with Zach. The judge granted the
annulment on grounds of desertion. Skully never showed up to
contest it so I assume it's legal."

"I don't know the law, but I would be
inclined to agree."

"What do you think Arlo will do now? I wish
Zach were here. He's been like a father to me, one I grew to love
and trust, one who offered me love in return."

"You have me, Meg. I won't let Skully hurt
you."

She turned and regarded him solemnly. "Why
are you still here? I thought you decided to leave Cheyenne."

"I learned Zach was called away to
Philadelphia and couldn't leave you without protection."

She gave a snort of laughter. "I'm a bounty
hunter, remember? I can take care of myself."

"You aren't doing a very good job of it,"
Jess reminded her. "It looked to me as if Skully had the upper
hand."

Meg sent him a wounded look. "He surprised
me. Arlo was the last person in the world I expected to see at my
door, and I didn't have my guns handy."

"What did he want?"

"He said I was still his wife, and insisted
that I leave town with him. I refused and he took exception. He
wanted to...to..."

Jess's face hardened. "No need to explain. I
know exactly what that bastard wanted from you. God, Meg, I would
have killed him had he hurt you."

Meg's expression softened. She wanted to kiss
him. She needed Jess, needed him to banish the memory of Arlo and
the painful past she'd lived with far too long.

"Kiss me, Jess."

"Are you sure, love?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my
life."

Jess stared at Meg as if she'd just offered
him the world. "I don't think I could stop with one kiss, and I'm
not sure that making love to you right now is a good idea."

Meg gave him a wounded look. "You don't want
me?"

His arms tightened around her and he groaned
into her ear. "I want you too much. So damn much that I'd risk
anything to have you again."

Meg pulled away, searching his face as she
put her fears into words. "I think Arlo recognized you."

"I've never met him, I'm sure of it."

"Then he's seen the poster," Meg said on a
shaky breath. "It's not safe for you here. You have to leave, Jess.
I couldn't bear to see you behind bars."

Jess's jaw firmed. "No, I'm not running.
Being a fugitive is not the kind of life I want for myself. The
hell with Arlo. I have a good notion to return to Dodge and fight
the charges. My brothers and I were wrong to flee. We should have
stayed and fought for justice. We panicked, and because we did, we
became fugitives from the law. I'm a doctor, I want to be free to
practice my profession."

"You won't stay free if you remain here. And
returning to Dodge will only land you in jail. Please, Jess, flee
before Arlo remembers where he saw you."

"I can't leave you, Meg. Zach is counting on
me to keep you safe in his absence and I'm not going to let him
down. I'll think about leaving after he returns."

"Is there nothing I can say or do to make you
understand how dangerous it is to remain?"

"No, but you can let me kiss you. It
is
what you wanted, isn't it?"

He rose and narrowed the distance between
them, bringing her against him. The delicious pressure of her
breasts against his chest made his breath hitch. She must have been
battered by the same emotions for her lips parted. Jess didn't wait
for an invitation as he teased the lush sensitive curve of her
upper lip and nibbled gently on the full lower one. He memorized
the shape of her lips with his tongue, then pressed for entry,
deepening the kiss.

His hands swept up from her waist, molding
her breasts. They shared a single breath as the kiss turned into a
prelude of something far more intense.

He broke the kiss, his breathing ragged. He
cupped her face and searched her delicate features. Her eyes were
dreamy, her lips faintly bruised and damp. He grasped her bottom
and pulled her into the cradle of his loins. Her eyes widened as he
ground his hips against hers, letting her feel the rigid length of
his erection.

"I tried to tell you what would happen if I
kissed you."

She dragged in a calming breath. "I
know."

"I want to make love to you, sweetheart. I
need you more than the air I breath."

"Will you leave Cheyenne afterward?" Meg
pleaded.

He swept her into his arms, striding
purposely toward her bedroom. "Only if you come with me."

"You know that's impossible."

He kicked open the door and charged inside.
He set her on her feet, letting her slide down the length of his
body so she could feel how much he wanted her. Then he kissed her
again, using his tongue to tease and torment her swollen lips,
tasting her, savoring her as he would a fine wine.

"Too many clothes," he muttered against her
lips as his hands found the fastenings on the front of her
dress.

Meg's fingers crept under his shirt; the
muscles cording his back and shoulders tensed. Her fingertips
glided down his chest and dipped just inside his trousers. His
flesh jerked beneath her touch. The sound he made was a mixture of
pleasure and pain.

Her dress fell to the floor and he lifted her
out of it. He released the ties holding her chemise together and it
soon joined the dress. She unbuckled his gunbelt and it fell to the
floor. She unfastened his trousers and ran her hands beneath the
waistband.

With a growl of impatience he tore off her
drawers and knelt before her to roll down her stockings. He
stripped them off along with her shoes. Then he stood back to
admire her.

"You're so beautiful it hurts my eyes to look
at you. You're mine, Meg. Someday, I don't know how, but someday,
somehow, we'll be together." His hand came up to stroke the tip of
one breast. "You believe that, don't you?"

Meg looked into the smoldering depths of
Jess's eyes and was willing to believe anything he said. The
strength of his emotion humbled her. It was bitter comfort to know
it was the wrong time to tell him she loved him. He had too much on
his plate, he didn't need complications.