The Tracker (17 page)

Nick wrapped his arm around her. “My wife doesn’t know her value.”

Ellie felt herself blushing. She wondered how she’d ever get through the meal. Her stomach was full of butterflies and her body sang with a restless energy.

The five sat down to the table filled with breads, jams, roasted chicken and cured ham. The group savored the meal, a rare treat by Montana standards. The reverend talked of his travels and some of the weddings he had performed. Mike offered up stories of his own. He had traveled the state from tip to tip and had met countless people.

Nick, however, was quiet. He would often take Ellie’s hand in his or smile down at her. But he seemed to have no desire to join the conversation.

Ellie’s mind moved to what would happen when they were alone this evening. She had grown up around women who traded their bodies for money. She certainly understood what happened in the bedroom, yet she was painfully aware now of her limited experience. It was one thing to
hear
about something and quite another to
do
it.

The group lingered around the table until well past the noon hour. It was the minister who finally rose.

He patted his full belly. “If I don’t get on the trail now, I won’t make it to my next stop before dark. I regret that I have lost my traveling companion, but I can think of no better reason.”

Nick stood. “If you wait a day, I will ride with you to Butte. I still have unfinished business there.”

Ellie glanced up at Nick. She’d forgotten all about Frank and the gold. Nick had not.

“I’d promised an old friend I’d be there by Saturday.”

“He can surely wait an extra day,” Annie said. “Stay and enjoy this lovely day.”

“You tempt me, ma’am, but I must be on my way. My friend is a worrier by nature and I fear he will send the sheriff out looking for me if I do not head out.”

“But it is only a day,” Annie said.

He took Annie’s hand in his. “I have traveled this state since you were a babe. This journey will be simple, like the thousand before it. Besides, two young couples should enjoy their privacy. The world offers precious little of it.”

Nick frowned. “I promised to travel with you.”

“Sir, you will not join me now. Enjoy your new wife.”

“I will catch up to you on the trail,” Nick said.

Ellie held her breath. She didn’t want Nick to leave her ever. Let Frank have his gold.

The minister laughed. “Mr. Baron, do not be in such a rush to catch up to an old man when you have such a lovely wife.”

As the minister walked away, Nick turned to Mike. “I don’t want to leave at all. But Frank must be drawn out. And the best way to do that is to get the gold.”

Mike stood. “Nick, if you don’t mind, I’ll ride with you tomorrow. Annie has told me about your trip and it seems to me an extra hand and gun could be helpful.”

Nick hesitated. Ellie sensed that he’d always worked alone and that accepting help from anyone was a challenge for him. He nodded. “Appreciate it.”

Within a half hour the minister sat astride his horse. Tied to his saddle was a sack of leftover food from the meal. Ellie had seen to it that he would eat well for days.

They all bid the old man goodbye. The couples remained on the front porch watching until the preacher was nearly out of sight. Ellie was glad for the quiet moment. She was in no rush to let go of her new husband.

When they could delay no more, each turned to the chores that needed doing even on a wedding day.
Horses demanded feeding, vegetables had to be picked and wagon wheels were in need of repair.

Ellie didn’t see much of Nick for the rest of the day. Though the chores kept her hands busy, her mind returned over and over again to the night. After tonight, she and Nick would be bonded forever.

As the sun started to dip, Ellie finished washing the dinner plates. Nick and Mike had gone to the barn to bed the animals down for the night. She nursed Rose and changed her diaper. Annie dried the last of the dishes.

“I’m going to visit the necessary,” Annie said.

Ellie nodded. “Take a lantern.”

Alone in the cabin, Ellie felt the weight of the coming night on her shoulders. She glanced toward her room. Through the half-open door, she could see the bed.

Ellie glanced up, shocked to see Nick standing on the threshold. Again he’d sneaked up on her without her hearing. “I swear I am going to tie a bell around your neck.”

Even, white teeth flashed. “I will try to move more loudly from now on.” He opened his arms to her and she went to them without hesitation. Wrapped in his embrace, she felt safe.

Her heart tripped. “Annie said the baby could stay upstairs with her tonight.”

“For this night only. After this, she stays with us. She is our girl.”

Tears filled her eyes. “There are things I should tell you about myself, Nick,” she said.

“They don’t matter, Ellie. What matters is this day forward.”

Talking to him about something as intimate as her virginity overwhelmed her with embarrassment. “I don’t want to disappoint you tonight.”

“You won’t.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. “I will make you happy, Nick.”

He took her hand in his. “You already do.”

E
LLIE FOLLOWED
N
ICK
to her room. Her window was open and a warm breeze blew through it. Outside, a thousand stars twinkled in the sky. She paused by the window. “Have you ever made a wish on a star?”

He glanced up at the sky. A faint smile touched his lips. “No.”

She tucked a curl behind her ear. “I’ve done it a million times. Every clear night I could get away from the Silver Slipper, I’d sneak outside. I’d get as far away from the music and laughter as I could. And then I’d look up into the sky and wish.”

“What did you wish for?”

She hesitated. She’d never spoken of her starlight wishes to anyone. “There were times I wished my ma was alive. There were other times when I wished I could go to school with the other children. But mostly I wished that I’d have someone to love me.”

He pulled her into an embrace. He hugged her
tight and in that moment all the lonely nights she’d ever spent vanished.

“We are lucky to have found each other, Ellie.” His voice was tight with emotion. “It will be good between us.”

No words of love. But for Ellie, it was enough for now.

He kissed her tenderly, then led her to the bed. Moonlight steamed in through the open window and shone onto her bed. The blankets had been folded down. Beside the bed sat Nick’s saddlebag. His book rested on the bedside table. Already, he’d made the space his own. He’d only been in her life a very short time, and he’d already made a mark on her forever.

Ellie’s stomach twisted as she stared at the bed. Nick laid his hands on her shoulders. She nearly jumped out of her skin. He chuckled. “You’re nervous.”

“Yes.” She looked up at him.

Gently he fingered her collarbone with his thumb. Desire burned in his eyes. He reached for the top button of her bodice and unfastened the first three. He kissed the soft skin at the base of her throat. She hissed in a breath. Bolts of desire shot through her. She threaded her fingers through his hair and lifted his face. She kissed him on the lips, savoring his taste.

Nick smiled. “We’ll not rush this moment. I want to savor every inch of you.”

The heat inside of her nearly exploded. Her body throbbed for him.

He smiled as if he read the lust in her eyes. With painstaking slowness, he unfastened three more buttons. The curve of her breasts swelled over the top of her chemise. He kissed each mound and nibbled gently at the tender skin.

Ellie reached for the remaining buttons of her bodice and unfastened them to her waist. Nick pushed her bodice off her shoulders and past her hips. The dress dropped to the floor. The cool evening air brushed her warm skin.

He stared down at her breasts as they rose and fell. Her nipples puckered and strained against the thin fabric of her chemise. Her breath grew shallow.

She reached between her breasts for the faded pink ribbon tied into a neat bow. She tugged it free. Her chemise slipped off her shoulder. Nick kissed that bare shoulder as he cupped a taut breast in his hand.

“You taste sweet and salty at the same time.”

She chuckled, marveling in her womanly powers. “Salt balances the sweet and makes it more flavorful.”

He removed her chemise. She stood in front of
him, naked from the waist up. He caught a nipple in his callused hand and then lowered his mouth to it. He suckled, teasing the tender pink flesh with his teeth.

Ellie felt an ache at her very core. She yearned for him to be inside her and to give her the climax she’d heard so much about. But as much as she wanted the release, she also wanted to savor this moment as long as she could.

She cupped his face in her hands and brought it up to her face. She kissed him on the lips and smiled. “Now, it is my turn.”

Ellie was all bravado, but this all felt so natural and right, and that knowledge made her bolder than she’d ever dared dream she could be. She unfastened the buttons of his shirt and then pulled it over his head. Dark chest hair blanketed his broad chest. Her boldness seemed to shock and please him.

She took the same path he had. First, she kissed the hollow of his neck and then she began to trail kisses down his chest. She captured his nipple between her lips and worked her tongue around the tender flesh.

Nick hissed in a breath. “If you keep that up, this will go much faster than I’d planned.”

The strain in his voice made her smile. She pulled away from his chest and circled his wet nipple with
her thumb. Growing up in a brothel did have some advantages. She knew how to satisfy a man. And she intended to give all she had to Nick.

Her gaze locked on his stormy eyes and she reached for his belt buckle. With deliberate slowness, she unfastened the belt loop. He sucked in his flat belly as her knuckles grazed his skin. She undid the top button and then the second.

He captured her hand and banded his arms around her, crushing her breasts against his chest. He kissed her deeply, longingly, as if trying to regain a handle on his fragile control. He gripped her buttocks and pressed her against his hardness.

She slid her hand down the back of his pants and squeezed his tight buttocks.

In that instant, whatever hold he had on his control snapped. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed and laid her in the center. He loomed over her, his dark gaze burning into her skin, and then he reached for the hem of her skirt and pulled it up to her waist.

Through her pantaloons he pushed the heel of his hand against her moist center. Her throat went dry. She had never known such intense wanting. She pushed her hips up, pushing into his hand.

Nick stepped back and yanked down his pants, not bothering to take them completely off. She kept her
gaze locked on his, not daring to look at his hard sex, fearing she’d lose her nerve. So far, instinct and second-hand knowledge had driven her to be bold. Now, she knew she was out of her depth.

She did not need to worry. Nick worked his knees between her thighs and pressed them open. He pushed the tip of his penis between the slit of her pantaloons and positioned it against her. Ellie opened her legs wider.

In one thrust, Nick pushed inside her. A wave of pain rocked Ellie’s body. Every muscle tensed and for a moment she couldn’t breathe.

E
LLIE
was a virgin!

The realization sliced through Nick’s brain.

Every one of his muscles urged him to seek his release. She was so tight, so lovely and so moist. But the desire that had driven her had been doused by pain.

Nick remained inside of her but he didn’t move so that she could adjust to him. He kissed her closed eyes. “Give your body time.” His voice was a hoarse whisper and he barely recognized it.

“I didn’t know it would hurt so.”

“The pain will fade quickly.” Nick licked his fingers and began to slowly rub circles around the tip of her womanhood, now swollen with desire.

A soft sigh escaped her lips and, slowly, the tension in her body began to ease.

“Better?” he whispered in her ear.

“Yes,” she said, a bit breathless.

He waited for her to become more comfortable. “Does it feel good?”

“Yes.”

Her honesty stoked his heat. Most women would have blushed or shrank away in shame, but Ellie didn’t deny herself these earthy pleasures.

Gently he began to move inside her. At first she tensed as if she expected another wave of pain, but when none seemed to come, she relaxed. His circles grew tighter and he pressed harder.

Ellie lifted her hips. A moan rumbled in her throat.

His own desire, which he’d barely been able to restrain, broke free. He began to move in and out of her in a rhythm that was as old as time.

Ellie bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know what I’m feeling.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. But I want…
more.
”

Sweat damped his back. “Then you shall have your release.” He moved faster, holding off his own pleasure until she found hers.

Then, suddenly, her body tensed. The muscles in her neck strained as she arched her head back. He sa
vored the raw pleasure on her face. When she called out his name and gripped his back, he drove into her one last time, allowing himself his own release.

Nick was certain his heart stopped for a moment as the pleasure seized him. He collapsed against Ellie, resting his face in the crook of her neck. Sweat mingled between their half-dressed bodies. Their heartbeats thrummed in a wild rhythm.

Slowly, his mind cleared and reason returned. “Ellie?”

She drew small, lazy circles on his back with her fingers. “Hmm?”

“You were a virgin.”

“I know.”

He hoisted himself up on his elbow. Her eyes were closed and a satisfied smile curled the edges of her lips. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She opened her eyes. Desire still lingered in her gaze. “You said we were starting over and that the past didn’t matter.”

He stroked her cheek. “But if I’d known, I would have gone slower…taken more time.”

“If you’d taken any more time, I think I might have exploded.”

He frowned. “I was too rough.”

“You were wonderful.”

He captured a piece of her skirt between his fingers. “I’d have at least undressed you properly.”

She chuckled. “You can still do that.”

He ran his hand up her leg. Damn, but he was growing hard again. “Aren’t you sore?”

She stroked his buttocks. “Not really. Should I be?”

“Hell, I don’t know. I’ve just heard that women needed a rest after.” His late wife had begged a week’s respite from his advances. “How did you manage to stay a virgin?”

“Miss Adeline didn’t pay much attention to me when I was little. I was a scrawny child with wild red hair, so she put me to work in the kitchen. And I know there were times when I got older that Miss Adeline wanted to put me to work, but Chin Lo said he would quit if he didn’t have me as his assistant. She needed Chin Lo more than she needed another working girl, so she never crossed him.”

“I thought you two were lovers.”

“Chin Lo and me? No. He treated me like his child.”

“I’m truly indebted to the man for keeping you safe.”

She sighed. “I knew my days were numbered after he died. It was a matter of time before she put me to work upstairs. Even then, I couldn’t seem to find the
courage to leave. Then Rose was born and I knew I couldn’t stay.”

He kissed her on the shoulder. It was a miracle she had survived at all. He was so thankful she’d been spared the upstairs rooms. “You should rest.”

“I can rest later.” Her voice had grown husky. “I’m anxious to show you a few things I learned at the Silver Slipper.”

He lifted a brow. “You learned things?”

“Mind you, I’ve no practical experience, but the girls talked and shared some of their secrets. I must admit that I’m anxious to try a few of those ideas out on you.”

He chuckled as he rubbed his hand under her skirt and up her naked thigh. “Like what?”

A faint blush colored her cheeks. She tracked her fingertip over his flat belly and then to his open belt and pants. “Well, I’m not very good at talking about such things. But I can show you.”

Nick grew hard. Ellie had the power to drive him insane. He sucked his breath when her hand slid into his pants. Her fingers circled around his manhood.

And she spent the next hour showing him what she couldn’t put into words.

W
HEN
E
LLIE WOKE
, the sun was streaming into the room. Nick’s naked body was spooned against her
buttocks and his hand curled around her breast. An undeniable sense of peace washed over her. Never in her life had she felt so safe and so wanted.

For the first time in her life, she did not fear tomorrow.

F
RANK LIFTED
his face to the bright, warm sun. His visit to the mining town had been downright pleasant. He’d had a bath and a good meal. The food wasn’t as good as Ellie’s and the cook wouldn’t let him sit in the kitchen while she cooked, but it was all passable. He was more than ready to find his Ellie and his baby girl.

He shifted in his saddle and sucked in a deep breath. This was his favorite time of year. Traveling was easy, the night chill didn’t keep him awake and the hunting was good.

Anticipation coursed through his veins. He was only a day’s ride from the Spring Rock coach stop. Soon he’d find Ellie. Soon his life would be perfect.

Jade and Monty had thought they’d outsmarted him. That Jade was a sneaky bitch. If not for her meddling, he, Ellie and Monty would be in Missouri living on the farm he and his brother had always talked about owning.

Frank sighed.

Monty. Remorse swept over him as he thought
about the last terrified look in Monty’s eyes. “Dumb son of a bitch.”

Damn Jade.

There was no getting Monty back, but the rest of his family would soon be together again.

“I’m coming for you, Ellie,” he said to the wind. His pure, sweet Ellie. “We’re going to be together real soon.”