Circle Eight: Vaughn (20 page)

There were some things that couldn’t be undone. She would have to live with her choices and hope for the best. Hope, however, could be hard to hang onto.

“I will give them the money and you have nothing to say about it.” Winnie glared at Vaughn from her perch on the bed. “It is my money after all.”

“You should wait until Boyd’s estate is settled. His debt is not yours.” He was worried about his friend. She had yet to speak of the shooting or her role in her father’s death. They had never had a good relationship, and Boyd had forced her to do terrible things, but killing a parent was traumatizing for anyone. Now she was ready to give away every penny she had to the Gibsons.

“I don’t care if he was a bastard spat from the bowels of hell, I will not let this family suffer because of his greed. They have their deed back. Now they need the money taken from them and they can go back to their lives.” Winnie was pale, not as pale as she had been the night before, but it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since she’d been shot.

As the sun set, the oranges and reds filled the room, she looked ethereal, a woman caught between life and death, a fighter who refused to allow her father turn her into a monster. She was strong and smart, but sometimes she made unwise decisions. Elizabeth, the woman Vaughn loved, sat beside
her friend, stiff-backed and unyielding. Together, the women were unstoppable.

Damn it.

“You support her decision?” He scowled at Elizabeth.

“I agree with you that it’s not her debt, but I do support her right to do what she knows is the right thing to do. It’s her money.” Elizabeth took Winnie’s hand.

“You two will be the death of me.” He resisted the urge to yell at them.

Tobias stood at the doorway, his arms crossed. His expression was blank, but Vaughn sensed an anxiousness in him.

“What do you say about this?”

Tobias shrugged. “That money is owed. If’n she pays the debt, then I reckon I’ll take the money. I gotta leave tomorrow at sunrise. After I get home I gotta go help Elizabeth and her family. We cain’t stay here no longer.”

Vaughn wanted to howl in frustration. Everything was falling apart and no one accepted it.

“You’re all leaving. Tomorrow.” He was disappointed to see Elizabeth nod. “What about our plans?”

“They haven’t changed. But I need to go home. There are things to be done, including paying my respects to Granny.” Her voice caught and her eyes looked suspiciously wet.

“I can’t leave Winnie alone.”

“I won’t be alone. I’ll hire someone to take care of me.” Winnie pushed at his arm. “You go with her.”

“You’re my friend. I can’t leave you alone two days after you were shot.” Vaughn didn’t want to decide between the two women in his life. One he loved as a sister, the other he was in love with. It was a shitty decision and he didn’t want to make it.

“I give you permission.” Winnie looked at Elizabeth. “It’s more important to go with Ellie.”

Vaughn didn’t agree but he didn’t know how to make them understand. If only the world would stop for a few days until Winnie was stronger. He also understood Elizabeth’s need to make sure Granny Dolan received her due respect. He liked the older woman and was sad to hear she had passed.

Well hell. He had no idea what to do.

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. It was late, past midnight, but she couldn’t sleep. She tried to read a book but was unable to focus. The sounds of the night creatures sang through the open window while the white lace curtain danced in the light breeze. It was a perfect night for sleeping but her mind simply would not rest.

She was worried that Vaughn wouldn’t choose to accompany her. He had asked her to marry him but he seemed unwilling to leave Winnie in order for her to return to the Circle Eight. It had been a week since she left, since her family’s property burned. She had to get back as soon as possible. He heard her but wasn’t sure he understood.

Her heart ached with the knowledge she had fallen in love with a man who didn’t know what family was. She had tried to explain it to him but with the life he’d led, never really had a family to rely on, love or support. It would be up to her to teach him, but if he didn’t follow through on his marriage proposal, there wouldn’t be a chance to.

It was the real reason she couldn’t sleep. She was worried Vaughn would stay behind and she would never see him again. Her heart would survive, but it would never again beat for a man. Her heart trusted him but her mind did not.

A soft knock at the door startled her. She got out of bed and cracked the door open. Vaughn stood there, looking disheveled and miserable. Her stomach dropped to her knees.

She opened the door and watched him walk in, her throat tight with emotion.

“You’re not going with me.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her down beside him, tucking her under his chin. His hands were warm on her back, big and comforting. Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to melt into his embrace and forget all the trials and tribulations.

“You smell good.” He pushed his nose into her hair and breathed in. The warmth of his breath raised goose bumps on her neck.

“You don’t.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think you washed up.”

He laughed softly, the rumble echoing through her chest. “Ah, Ellie, there isn’t a woman in the world I want in my lap besides you.”

“Good, because I like your lap.” She snuggled closer. “You aren’t coming with me, are you?”

He sighed. “I will come to your ranch in a couple days but I can’t leave Winnie alone.”

“I know she’s recovering.” Elizabeth tried to be understanding but she wanted him with her.

“Troxler was her father. She killed him. I don’t think she has faced what she’s done.” He ran his hand down her arm. “How would you feel if you killed your father?”

A chill ran up her spine. Elizabeth could not imagine how her friend must feel and a swath of guilt ran through her. She had been concerned with Winnie’s health but hadn’t considered how her emotions had been torn apart.

“You’re doing the right thing.” Elizabeth didn’t want to say it but it was true. She was always truthful even if it hurt.

“Thank you, darling.” He laid her back onto the bed and began kissing her neck in earnest. She closed her eyes and reveled in his warm lips on her skin, contrasting the cool breeze. It was delicious and incredibly arousing.

“Mmm, that feels good.” She scratched at his back, wanting to feel his smooth skin beneath her fingers.

“Perhaps we can think of something to do for next couple of hours.”

She smiled. “Yes, I think we can.”

He unbuttoned the borrowed night rail, kissing the exposed skin. His mouth traveled down her body, licking and nipping at her until she was a bundle of need. Before she knew what happened, she was completely nude and he wasn’t. His clothing rubbed against her, naughty and rough, heightening her arousal.

“I think you need to wear less. Things appear to be lopsided.” She pulled at his shirt until she found skin. “I know you’re beneath this pesky cloth somewhere.”

He laughed and got to his feet, staring down at her. His gaze swept her from head to foot. She resisted the urge to cover herself, although she was at her most vulnerable, spread-eagle and visible in the low candlelight.

“My God, you’re beautiful.”

“You are blind.”

He smiled as he removed his clothing. “You’re tall, sleek, both muscled and round in all the right places. You were made for me, for me to love you.”

His pretty words felt good, really good. She actually felt beautiful beneath his gaze. For a bookkeeper with a sharp tongue on a remote Texas ranch, her prospects had been little to none. Then a swindler with a handsome face and a lovely physique fell into her life. She might not have made the right choice, but it was hers to make. Right about then, it was perfect.

His naked form was as wonderful as she remembered. She had taken care of him for two days until she saw his eyes open. Perhaps she had fallen in love with who she wanted him to be while he’d slept on in her care. Then the reality of who he was and her ideal crashed into each other, creating sparks. Now he was hers, in heart, body and soul.

“You are beautiful too.”

He shook his head. “Men can’t be beautiful.” He crawled up onto the bed and covered his body with hers.

“I beg your pardon, but you are wrong.” She ran her hands down the expanse of skin, tracing each scar, hill and valley. The rough hair on his legs tickled her softer legs, his hard form melted into her softness. A perfect pairing.

He nudged her knees apart, his hardened cock resting against her thigh. When his mouth closed around her nipple, she arched her back, the sensations buffeting her from the top of her head to her toes. It was exquisite pleasure she could get used to experiencing every day and every night.

“I can’t keep my hands off you.” His fingers trailed down her side until he reached her knee. He pulled until she pulled her heel up, opening herself wider. He slid into her easily, her channel wet with arousal. Once he was seated deep inside her body he paused and as was his way, pressed his forehead to hers. “Sweet heaven.”

She was full, completely and utterly. His staff pulsed within her and her body responded by clenching around him. He groaned and started moving. His rhythm was slow and steady, teasing him, teasing her. Tingles spread through her with each movement. Although it was only the third time they’d made love, her body knew his. She moved with him, in and out, her pelvis arching up to meet his downward push. Delicious. Amazing. Perfect.

Elizabeth pulled at his shoulders, needing more, wanting more. Her body cried out for release, for him to give her what she craved. He kept his pace even until she was ready to kick him. Instead she bit his shoulder. He hissed and bit her shoulder in retribution. Then his thrusts grew faster, harder. She pulled her other knee up, opening herself fully.

“Ellie.” Her name was like a chant, reverence and wonder in his tone.

Her body wound tighter and tighter. She hung onto him, lost in the wonder of joining with the man she loved. Before now, theirs had been a relationship of pleasure, now she would marry him, create children with him and grow old with him.

She exploded in an instant, stars raining down on her, ecstasy washing through her. He thrust deeper than he had, calling her name in a harsh whisper. Tears stung her eyes as she hung onto him, swimming in a sea of sweet joy.

Elizabeth held him as their bodies trembled, the aftermath of their joining filled the air. Their combined scent and passion made for the perfume of life.

“How will I survive without you for a day or two?” he murmured as he kissed her collarbone.

“We’ll be together for the rest of our lives. A couple of days is merely a drop in the bucket.” She hugged him hard, knowing it would be some time before she would be able to hold him naked again.

The time had come to go home.

Nicholas stood in the doorway staring at Winnie. She was still so very pale. Her blonde hair was spread out on the pillow like liquid gold. She was a woman he could never have for his own. Untouchable. Beautiful. Not his.

The sun hadn’t yet come up and the room was cloaked in shadows. He wanted to say good-bye but didn’t want to wake her up. She needed her rest and he needed to forget she had been in his life. Nick had never gotten what he wanted, and it wouldn’t start with a smart sophisticated woman like Winnie.

Her eyes fluttered open. “Nick.” The husky tone made him think of mornings and nights in her arms that would not happen. His body tightened nonetheless.

“Good morning, Miss Watson.”

She smiled, an angel’s smile. “Winnie. Please call me Winnie.”

“Winnie, then.” He leaned against the doorframe. “We’re leaving in a few minutes. I want to get an early start.”

Her smile faded. “I understand. It’s a long distance.”

“Thank you for your hospitality. It can’t be easy to have six men in your house at once.”

She blinked slowly. “I managed all right.”

“That you did. I’m sorry I won’t be here to help you get well.”

“You already helped a great deal. I understand you carried me from the restaurant.” Her cheeks pinkened. “That was very gallant of you. Thank you for your assistance.”

His brain decided not to work at that moment. She was thanking him and he stood there like an ox.

“Will you visit me if you come to Houston again?” She was all grace and politeness. He was a rancher with rough hands and even rougher manners.

“I ain’t never been to Houston before now. The ranch keeps me pretty busy.” He wanted to tell her he would be back, no matter what. She was the woman he wanted to fall in love with. However she would never, could never, be in his life permanently.

“I understand. I wish you a safe journey and I thank you again for everything.”

Mutely, Nick tipped his hat and walked away. He had to before he said something stupid or did something stupider. Winnie would be a memory he would keep close at heart, and bring out like a treasured possession now and then. That would have to be the way because there was no other.