He looked for familiar faces. Sheriff MacFarlane in Springfield had shown him a few wanted posters, reminded him of some of the criminal element roaming the south-west at the moment. They didn’t know about every man who’d sell the use of his gun for a few dollars, but they had a good idea of some of them. So as he made his way along
Caleb encountered no one who looked familiar on the street. Inside the sheriff’s office proved another matter entirely.
“Hey, Red,” he greeted, shaking the sheriff’s hand, “I’d heard you’d hired on here.” Caleb met Red Hall, a former Texas Ranger, a couple of years before when he and Joshua were working as members of the U.S. Marshall’s service on an assignment in El Paso. The sheriff of Denison was also a friend of Adam’s, a double connection.
It was the second man in the sheriff’s office, sitting in a chair with one leg up on the desk, whose presence surprised Caleb.
“Well, I’ll be damned! I haven’t seen you in a long time, Masterson. I thought you were wearing a badge up in
The dark-haired, mustachioed man got to his feet, his smooth, boyish face breaking out in a smile.
“Benedict! I knew you were headed this way. Red just filled me in on your situation. Where’s that card-playing brother of yours?”
“Back at the hotel, keeping an eye on Sarah.”
“Got a room over there myself. Yeah, I
was
wearing a badge in Kansas but not anymore.”
“I heard about Ed,” Caleb said. The man’s brother, himself a marshal, had recently been gunned down in Dodge City. “Damned sorry, Bat. He was a hell of a good man.”
“Appreciate the sentiment, Caleb, thanks. I got the bastard who killed him. You can be sure of that.”
“So I heard, and good for you.”
“Bat and I were just talking about your problem, Caleb,” Sheriff Hall said. “I’ve been keeping an eye out as best I can for any known criminals. Truth is, no new ones have come to town in the last few days that I’m aware of.”
“We’re keeping alert, Joshua and I, assuming that something more
is
going to happen and happen here. Last chance, really, before we get to Waco.” Caleb said.
“And you’re pretty certain whoever wants Mrs. Maddox dead has to kill her before Waco?” Hall asked.
“Seems most likely,” Caleb said. He had a theory but didn’t want to reveal his thoughts. Theories weren’t proof, after all.
“Course, if whoever
is
after the lady were crafty enough to hide out at one of the whorehouses here, we’d likely never see him, never even know he existed.” Masterson said. “A man could lose himself in that part of town, not coming up for air until it was time to do the job.”
“Thought about rousting the establishments over on Skiddy Row, but it would cause a lot of trouble I’d like to avoid. We have a working agreement, and I don’t want to be the one to break it.” The Sheriff shook his head, then shot Caleb a hard stare.
“That’s the kind of thing you and Bat can do, though. Take a look-see over on the wild side. Find out if anyone has someone hiding behind her skirts, so to speak.”
“I’m heading on over to Bobby’s place to get me a steak in a couple hours. He still has that restaurant a few doors down from where we’re staying. Perhaps we can meet up, then take a tour?”
“We’ll all meet you there. Maybe you and Joshua could take that tour after dinner. He’s a better card player than I am.”
“Taking turns with the lady? Guarding her, that is?” Masterson asked.
Caleb hadn’t thought it would be possible for him to feel embarrassed, but damned if Bat’s comment, backed up by twinkling eyes and his legendary sense of humor, didn’t do just that. He felt himself begin to bristle against the innuendo and fought back the instinctive anger.
“We won’t leave Sarah alone for a moment, if that’s what you mean,” he answered slowly. He knew Masterson had a penchant for teasing, so he didn’t take offence at the comment. At the same time, he felt honor bound to make it clear that Sarah wasn’t any kind of light skirt. “She’s far too important to us to risk even a hair on her head.”
“I look forward to meeting the lady. She sounds extraordinary. Perhaps she’d be interested in a more…experienced protector. Since I believe I have served as a lawman more than you and Josh combined.” Masterson said.
Of course, he knew Masterson was just having him on. Bat had an even higher code of ethics than he and Joshua did.
“Seriously, Caleb,” Sheriff Hall said, “I have my deputies ready to keep an eye on the three of you tonight. They’ll be there as you escort your lady to dinner. Then if Joshua and Bat here take a tour of the seamier side of town, my boys will stay with you and Mrs. Maddox. By morning, we’ll have a good idea if there’s going to be trouble or not. Riding the train, tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we plan on only staying one night here in Denison.”
“I’ll have someone there at the depot, then, before first light. You’ll have re-enforcements until you leave Denison, at any rate.”
“I reckon that’s about as good as it gets,” Caleb said. He shook the men’s hands and headed back to the hotel. It felt good to know others stood at the ready should their help be necessary. But knowing even the legendary Bat Masterson was part of his team didn’t relieve Caleb’s concern completely.
The skin between his shoulder blades itched. A sure sign of trouble, that.
* * * *
The hotel staff had brought the largest tub Sarah had ever seen, filled it half way with steaming water, and left a few buckets of water beside it. They’d also brought a dressing screen, setting it up to afford her privacy while she bathed.
When the last water boy had left, Caleb locked the door behind the lad, moved the dressing screen out of the way, then looked at Sarah with such hunger she wondered she didn’t melt on the spot.
Joshua moved behind her. Reaching forward, he removed the top to her traveling suit, pulling it down her arms, then tossing it on the floor behind him. He nuzzled her neck, just below her ear. His hot breath caused a shiver that puckered her nipples. In front of her, Caleb reached out and stroked the hard buttons through her chemise.
“Oh, God. You make my knees weak, the both of you.”
“We’re delighted to hear that,” Joshua said. “Especially considering you keep us in an almost constant state of horniness.”
They didn’t give her any time to think or to weaken. Working quickly, they stripped her bare. Caleb lifted her and set her in the tub.
“Now, we’ll get to work,” he mumbled. Chucking his clothes off, he knelt at the side of the tub. Picking up the soap, he wet it and lathered his hands. Then he put those hands on her.
Motion drew her attention to Joshua, who stepped to the other side of the tub, as naked as his brother.
He accepted the soap from Caleb, lathered his hands, and picked up one of her legs.
“You have one of those built-in bathtubs I’ve heard about in that fancy house of yours back in Chicago?” Caleb asked as he smoothed his soapy hands over her breasts and across her shoulders.
Sarah wondered that she could concentrate enough to form words. Closing her eyes, she settled back against the edge of the tub. “Mmm, yes. Miranda of the expensive demands insisted on it. She’d read about them being so popular in
“Reckon we can have one built that would fit us all,” Joshua said. He scooped a ladle of steaming water and drizzled it over her.
“Build a tub?” She wondered if she’d missed something.
“When everything is settled in Waco, and we set about finding a place for us—for all of us—then we’ll see about building a tub we all can share,” Joshua explained.
“I’m sorry we can’t live in a big city. It’s just not for us. We’re partial to staying in Texas because here is where we were born and raised. We’ll probably end up with a place outside of a town, since we’re going to be ranchers and not gunslingers once we settle down. Ranching is a safer endeavor for family men,” Caleb said.
Two separate men but they think as one
. Sarah considered them a miracle.
She felt her eyes cross when Joshua lathered the inside of her thigh and carried his long, sweeping stroke to the tender flesh of her pussy. He used his thumb to brush her clitoris as he sank two fingers into her.
She moaned as arousal curled in her belly and flamed out to every inch of her skin. Caleb tilted her head up and claimed her lips with his. His tongue plunged, seducing hers into a dance of heat and lust. He took her right hand out of the water and brought it to his cock. She curled her fingers around him, the familiar hardness already a favorite handful. Blindly, she reached out her other hand, grateful when Joshua moved closer so she could clasp him, too.
The knowledge that she caused these two virile males to get hard, to hunger, pleased her beyond words.
“Please,” she whimpered, not caring in the least if she begged.
“Soon, sweetheart.”
They helped her from the tub, running towels over her to dry her, then set her on the bed. There was barely enough room for both men to stand in the tub but they did, making quick work of their own baths. How arousing to watch them run soap and cloth over their bodies, to watch them handle cocks that remained hard despite the common nature of the task they performed.
Watching them aroused her beyond measure. No shyness impeded her pleasure in the moment or in the build of anticipation as Caleb and Joshua worked quickly to clean the dust and the sweat of the trail from their bodies.
They each passed the cloths over their bodies to dry themselves before coming to her.
Together they brought her down on the bed, her head cradled on one of the pillows. Her hands already touched and teased as they petted and kissed, as they pressed their bodies close to hers so there was no space between them.
Her lips would taste one, her tongue would dip and dance, then her head would be turned so she could sample the other.
They spread her legs, opening her to their sight, their touch. Her hips begged for more, rising to follow the caresses. Masculine chuckles inflamed rather than embarrassed, and all Sarah wanted was more.
Bold and brazen, she rolled right, gained her knees, and kissed a line down Joshua’s chest, further, dipping her tongue into his navel. Her hand stroked his hard cock, fisted it, and brought it to her mouth. She loved the taste of him, the feel of the hot, smooth skin sliding between her lips. She loved the way he cursed softly, then speared his fingers through her hair as he grasped her head, trying to control the in-out motion the same way he did when he fucked her pussy.
The heat of Caleb’s body behind her shot her arousal higher. When his hands nudged her legs, she spread them even more.
When his cock stroked the folds of her cunt, she dipped her hips, captured the rigid flesh, and sank down onto it.
She’d driven them both to the point of need, and she rejoiced in her success. And when they began to buck in her, when she felt their seed enter her, she could only drink it in, above and below, as her rapture took her beyond anything she’d ever known.
Chapter 16
Even some of the restaurants in Chicago featured air heavy with grease. Sarah had never become accustomed to eating out, preferring instead the quiet, simple meals their cook had prepared. But after several nights of trail food, she was looking forward to a restaurant meal, and grease smell be darned.
Sarah smiled when she stepped into Bob’s Eats with Caleb and Joshua. An amazing aroma filled the air, and it wasn’t grease. Roast beef was a perfume she loved to inhale. She sniffed something else, a spicy, molasses-like scent that set her mouth to watering.
Caleb led them to a table in the back, one that seemed to be occupied already by a single diner.
The gentleman rose when they approached. If she had to pick one word to describe him, it would be dapper. His white shirt, crisp and clean, showed off his tanned face, a face that despite the dark moustache, seemed smooth and young.
“Hey!” Joshua’s pleasure at seeing the man seemed genuine, and as they shook hands and pounded each other’s backs, she couldn’t resist smiling. “Caleb mentioned you’d landed in town. Great to see you.”
“You too, Joshua. Perhaps you could introduce me to the lady?”
Sarah wondered at the possessive way Caleb, standing behind her, set his hands on her shoulders.
“Sarah, this is a good friend of ours, Bat Masterson. Bat, this is Sarah…Maddox.”
“A pleasure, Mrs. Maddox.”
Sarah tilted her head and wondered what Caleb had said to this gentleman earlier in the day, for she thought she could see a twinkle in his eye as he brought her hand to his lips.
“Mr. Masterson,” she acknowledged.
“Bat, please.”
“An unusual name, if you don’t mind my saying.”
“Not at all. It’s just what folks call me.”