Desire in Deadwood (3 page)

Outside the Gem, she looked around quickly then hurried through the swing doors and into the bar. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of stale sweat and alcohol.

A quick scan from under the shawl showed her that it was still quiet so she darted through the bar and headed for the staircase, taking the steps two at a time.

Once at the top, Evelyn rushed across the wide landing, which looked down onto the open space of the bar, then paused outside the small room.

What would happen today? Would she have to stand before him again, scandalously naked whilst he pleasured himself? Would he force himself upon her and expect her to make love to him with their former passion? If he did, would she be able to feign indifference, to force herself to find no pleasure in their coupling? The thought both terrified and aroused her.

She knocked then entered immediately and let the shawl slip from her head, her stomach clenching at the thought of seeing him again.

But he wasn’t alone.

He sat on the chaise longue again with his feet planted squarely on the ground in front of him, but next to him, caressing his muscular thigh possessively, was a young woman.

“Oh.” Evelyn settled the shawl upon her shoulders and self-consciously patted her hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise that you had company. Shall I go?” She turned and was about to step out into the corridor when she felt a hand upon her shoulder.

She turned, expecting to look up into Nate’s eyes but instead she looked into the laughing green eyes of a whore.

“Don’t go sweety! We was jus’ waitin’ for ya, see!” the girl wheedled, running a finger up and down Evelyn’s cheek.

She shrugged it away, causing the girl to cackle and perform an elaborate curtsey before her.

“What is this, Mr Hamilton? You made no mention of this!” Evelyn lifted her chin and scowled at him.

“If I may correct you, my dear Mrs Campbell”—he leant forward resting his arms upon his legs—“I made no specification of details. I merely told you that I was aware of your situation and offered you a way to earn some money. You seemed keen enough.” He shrugged. “You didn’t ask for particulars.”

Evelyn blinked hard as she glared at him. She could not argue with the truth. His offer had been most generous and she really hadn’t any alternative. She’d even reasoned that it would be better to be with Nate, with a man she had loved and been intimate with. Better that than sell herself to a rotten toothed miner who’d paw at her body and rob her of her self-respect. At least that was what she’d thought. But here was Nate, stealing that same self-respect away from her, intent upon humiliating her for his own pleasure.

Well she would not let him see how hurt she was. Clearly the man she had known and loved was gone, his love and compassion evaporated by the harsh sunlight like the morning dew on the arid landscape. She slammed the door. There was no going back.

“So what do you want me to do?” She threw her shawl away from her and unbuttoned her jacket then flung it after the shawl.

Nate stared at her, eyebrows raised.

The soiled dove gave a harsh laugh then returned to her position at Nate’s side and snuggled into him, entwining a shapely leg around his. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, staring all the while at Evelyn’s face.

So he was playing games. Did he want to get revenge by hurting her?

She pushed down her skirt and kicked it away then she let down her hair.

Nate eyed her with the hunger of a starving man, from her cotton bloomers to the flimsy chemise above her corset. She shivered under the intensity of his gaze but she flicked her hair over her shoulders and pushed her chest out. She would show him all that she was—all that she had to give. She would not shy away from his lust.

There’d been a time, during their youth, when she’d been apprehensive about undressing in front of him but with his love and tenderness she’d soon been reassured and had even become quite brazen with him. But she’d been so sure of him then, so convinced that he loved her and would never hurt her. This was different.

She was dragged roughly back to the present as the harlot moaned and she watched in horror as Nate allowed the whore to slide his hand into the top of her chemise, whilst she pulled his other hand up to her face and began to suck on his fingers.

Stood in the middle of the room in her underwear and boots, watching the man she had loved being touched and kissed by another woman, Evelyn was consumed with hurt and jealousy. It made her heart pound, and anger burned hot in her belly.

“Mrs Campbell,” his voice was almost a whisper, “come over here.”

Not knowing what else she could do, though she longed to turn and run from the room, Evelyn obeyed.

Nate reached out to her and pulled her down onto his knee, wrapping his arm around her waist. The whore moved her leg away but kept Nate’s hand upon her breast.

Evelyn fought the urge to jump up and flee when the whore threw her head back and reached down to her crotch where she rubbed against the thin cloth of her bloomers, arching her hips up towards her own touch.

“Do you like this, Evelyn?” Nate’s voice was husky.

She didn’t trust herself to answer.

The whore increased her pace upon herself and began gyrating in ecstasy. Evelyn watched Nate as he eyed the girl. A sigh escaped his lips when the girl reached under her bloomers and continued rubbing at her pussy, faster and faster until she shuddered suddenly and violently, then opened her feline eyes to smile at her audience.

Evelyn stared at the girl in shock. How could she be so wanton?

The whore seemed to read Evelyn’s mind and she pushed her chemise down to expose small pert breasts then flung her head back as Nate squeezed at a rosy nipple. Her bloomers clung to her damp groin, evidence of her recent climax, and Evelyn’s eyes were glued to the outline of the soiled dove’s sex.

Though her mouth was dry and her palms clammy, Evelyn had to admit that she was aroused. But the conflicting emotions threatened to burst out of her in a flurry of tears and violence. She wanted to scratch at her rival for stealing away Nate’s attention yet she knew that it was not the girl’s fault. She, like Evelyn, was doing what she was paid to do.

She would not allow Nate to see her jealousy, her pain.

Leaning in towards him she pressed her lips against his jaw. His scent was so familiar and so good that tears sprang into her eyes and her desire for him twitched deep within her. She had loved this man with every fibre of her being, yet she had married another and she wondered now at how much her actions had hurt him. If he had only sent word to her, reassured her of his health, success and imminent return, she would have held on…but she’d had too much to lose. She’d been forced to make a choice under duress and the offer had been open only for a very limited time. What else could she have done?

A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she sought out his lips, but he turned his face away from her and her lips landed instead upon his dark hair.

“No, Mrs Campbell, I will not kiss you. The time for such tenderness is long gone.”

He pulled his arm away from the whore and Evelyn jumped in shock as he squeezed her full breast hard then ripped her chemise down and found the erect nub, tweaking it roughly as he had the whore’s. He rolled his thumb and forefinger over the hard nub and rubbed at the surrounding pale pink circle and the action caused an exquisite flicker deep inside her as if her breasts and cunny were linked. He tugged at her erect nipple and pinched it but the pain was delicious as it fired her longing for him, reigniting a side of her that she had hidden for a decade. It had been so long.

A groan escaped her and it seemed to spur him on, the rolling and rubbing grew harder and she fought the urge to beg him to move his hand between her legs to offer her the sweet release that he was so capable of doing. Her pussy throbbed, the silken folds moist with desire.

She knew that she should push his hand away, pull away from him and run from the room—she was a respectable woman, a mother and a widow—but she knew that she would not, for though his touch was rougher, his eyes harder, her yearning for him pulsed through her even more powerfully than before.

With his one arm wrapped around Evelyn’s waist and his other hand full of her breast, Nate felt that he would explode. Evelyn’s scent, the warmth of her skin and her beauty were sending him into sensory overload and he could feel his lust for her wiping out all reason. He wanted to lift her in his arms and lay her down on the couch then plunge deeply into her curvaceous body until he felt that he was at one with her again.

She was reacting to his touch, moaning and writhing even though he was being so rough and had intended on causing her discomfort not enjoyment. Her evident arousal was awakening part of him that he had long since buried, and he remembered how lovemaking could be—how it had been to hold, kiss and caress the woman he loved.

But that was the boy he had been. He was different now.

He shook himself and stopped toying with her though he really wanted to lean over and kiss every part of her—to fill himself with the taste and feel of her.

He had to stop this. It wasn’t right.

A sense of shame washed over him and he pulled Evelyn’s chemise up over her breast then pushed her away from his lap. She stood looking down at him, her face white and confused.

The whore cackled and leaned across him, grabbing at his cock through his trousers but he slapped her hand away. This was wrong because of her. He’d believed that this would be a perfect punishment for Evelyn—a humiliation beyond endurance that might also conjure some signs of jealousy within her, maybe some proof that she had feelings for him.

Instead, it just felt wrong. Evelyn had gone along with it, more willingly than he had expected, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t want anyone else seeing her like that—watching and enjoying her arousal. It was private, for him and him alone. At least it had been.

“I’m off to get a drink,” the whore muttered as she opened the door. “Holler if ya want me back.” She blew them both a kiss then left.

Evelyn walked over to her clothes and picked them up. She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

“What do you want to do now, Mr Hamilton?” her voice shook.

Looking over at her, Nate shook his head.

“Get dressed then come sit here.” He patted the chaise beside him then adjusted his trousers. Not sure what to do with his hands, he picked up his hat from the stool and fingered the brim.

“Mr Hamilton?” She sat at his side, her back straight, her chin held high as a lady of quality.

He looked up from his black Stetson and held her gaze.

“Why did you marry him, Evelyn?”

“What?” She stared at him with wide eyes.

“When I left your Daddy’s ranch I told you I’d be back. Why didn’t you wait?”

She hung her head and picked at a loose cotton thread on her sleeve.

“Why do you want to discuss that now? It was such a long time ago.” She shook her head then placed a hand upon his arm. “You’ve been well though?”

He nodded.

“You did well for yourself?”

He frowned at her. “So you’re interested in how much money I’ve made?”

“No, Nate, of course not!”

“Don’t lie to me, Evelyn!” He jumped to his feet. “We made promises to each other and I went off to make us some money.” His voice cracked. “I went off to make money so that I could marry you, Evelyn, build us a nice home and make you happy!”

She nodded. “I know.”

“But you didn’t wait for me to return.” He slammed his hat on the floor and kicked it across the room.

Her eyes filled with tears.

“You were gone so long. I didn’t hear from you and I thought that…”

“You thought what?”

“I thought that you were dead…or that you’d left me.”

“But I pledged myself to you. I promised you the world and I kept my promise.” He held his hands out towards her. “These hands bled as I combed through rivers, stones and silt searching for gold to build our future.”

“I’m so sorry,” she sniffed.

“I wrote to you, Evelyn. I sent you word that I’d struck lucky and would soon return.”

“I didn’t receive a letter”—she frowned—“if I had, Nate, I’d have waited.”

“I wish I could believe that, Evelyn, but every time I think of what you did I’m mad as a hornet.”

“I had no choice, Nate.”

“Course you did. There’s always a choice.”

He looked at her flushed cheeks and swollen red eyes and pity battled the anger churning inside him.

“Come on, I’ll see you back to the hotel.”

Evelyn stood and wiped at her tears then she wrapped her shawl around her head. As she walked past him, he reached out towards her retreating back, almost touching her shawl, then dropped his hands quickly to his sides and shook his head.

* * * *

Walking down the stairs to supper, Evelyn held tightly onto Aaron’s hand. Her stomach hadn’t stopped churning since Nate had seen her into the hotel, and she was exhausted by it all. She wanted to stay strong and aloof, to resist the calling of her heart that pulled her towards Nate, but she felt that she was losing the battle. The strength of his presence, the intensity of his eyes, the magnificence of his form and the beauty of his soul—all these qualities reached out to her and she struggled to resist them.

But she had to keep up appearances—for her son’s sake.

She had made an effort to dress for supper and Aaron had complimented her on the forest green taffeta gown, even commenting that she reminded him of a mermaid with her thick hair draped over one shoulder in a loose braid.

They found an empty table and sat down. Evelyn’s cheeks burned because every eye in the place seemed to be upon her. Working men came into the hotel to buy their dinner and she had hoped to dine before the place filled up but her presence seemed to coincide with their arrival and the room was soon stuffy and crowded. With the longing stares cast her way she felt like a thoroughbred mare being evaluated for breeding.

“Mind if I join you?”