Shadow's Stand (37 page)

“You have a beautiful smile, Fei. Don’t hide it from me.”

He sat her on the bed, resting one knee by her hip before easing her back, following her down as she went, smiling the whole way.

Goddamn, he loved her. “Fei.”

Cupping her breast through her dress, he found her nipple. With a light pass he brought it to life. She gasped.

He did it again. “Do you like that?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Tell me how it feels.”

“Like a wonderful door opening to something better.”

“I like that.”

“So do I.” Cupping his face in her hands, she whispered, “My dragon.”

“What is it with you and dragons?”

“They are magical mythical creatures that fill me with wonder.”

She said those things so easily. Exposed her heart so easily. “As you do.”

“Fei.”

“What?”

He shook his head. “Just…Fei.”

Her smile broadened. “Kiss me again.”

He did, gladly, the desire working past his control, demanding more than light touches, adding fire to the softness. Burn to the heat. He wanted her breast in his hand. Her skin against his.

“I need you out of these clothes.”

“Oh, yes.” Her hands beat his to the buttons on her dress. One by one they popped open. He traced the ever widening V with his fingers, following the lapel to her breasts as she spread them open, lingering on the peak of her breasts, circling the nipple before following the same path back and repeating the procedure on the other side. Teasing her until she shifted and arched, moaning himself at the sweet presentation.

“Shadow?”

“Yes?”

“Just that.” She smiled and ran her hands up her torso. That smile did all sorts of crazy things to his insides. Still smiling, she pulled her camisole down, exposing her breasts to his hungry gaze. “And maybe this.”

His cock throbbed and his control slipped further. “Honey, I’m not going to be able to give you what you want if you keep that up.”

Cupping her hands under her breasts, she plumped them to his gaze. “I told you, Shadow, I do not want you to protect me from yourself.”

“It’s not protection.”

She pinched the nipples lightly, sighing as goose bumps raced over her skin. His fingers closed in envy.

“Then what?”

He didn’t know how to say it. “I want you to hear me.”

Her eyes opened. “I’ve always heard you. Even when I didn’t like what you had to say.”

“You love me, Shadow, as I love you.”

“Son of a bitch.”

Catching her hands, he brought them up around his neck, feeling the smile start deep inside blending with the heat to something new. Something good. Something better.

“Come breathe your fire on me, dragon,” she whispered in his ear.

Shadow took her at her word, sliding his arm under her back, arching her up, taking her nipple into his mouth, closing his lips around it, sucking gently then harder, whipping his tongue over the receptive surface, keeping her put when she would have twisted away, giving her what she asked for. All the fire she brought out in him.

“That’s it,” he encouraged as she wrapped her fingers in his hair, holding him to her as she cried out with pleasure. “Burn for me.”

“I am.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her other nipple, plump and pouting. Needing. He transferred his attention, with a soft growl capturing the soft bud in the heat of his mouth, loving it until it was as hard as the other.

“Shadow. Oh, my God, Shadow.”

He knew how she felt. He ached right along with her, needed right along with her, desired right along with her. He touched the tip of his finger to the tip of her breast, pressing gently. “Just a little more.”

“I can’t take any more.”

“Yes, you can.”

With a tug he transferred her hips to the edge of the bed. Pushing the material of her skirt up and out of the way, he untied her pantaloons and slid them off her hips. For a second he just admired, touching her pussy with the tips of his fingers, tracing the crease down, his finger gliding easily along the slick folds, testing until he felt the bump of her clit. Dropping to his knees, he brought her legs over his shoulders. Her scent surrounded him. His mouth watered. His cock throbbed. His heart pounded in his chest. His blood thickened in his veins. She smelled of soap and sweet desire. So sweet.

“Very pretty.”

Fei grabbed her skirts and yanked them over her head. “Don’t look.”

“Honey, nothing could keep me from looking.”

She moaned in protest.

He laughed and didn’t care. All he needed was splayed before him in a delectable feast. Pink, swollen and eager. He kissed the soft pad. She squealed and gasped. Her thighs fell open. Very eager.

Parting her with his thumb and forefinger, he blew gently across her moist folds. She shivered. Her fingers twisted in his hair, pulling him in. She didn’t have to worry. He wasn’t going anywhere. Not for a long time. The first pass of his tongue had her gasping. The second stiffening. The third holding absolutely still.

“Right there?”

“Oh, God.”

Nuzzling in, he lapped at her pussy, swirling his tongue through her juices, finding her engorged clit easily, capturing it between his lips, holding it for the rasp of his tongue, the swirl of the tip.

“Oh, yes! Shadow!” Her hips bucked. Her fingers tightened. Easing his hand between them, he tested her vagina. She was tight, wet. Ready. He slipped his finger into the slick channel, groaning as it immediately clamped down, imagining all that feminine heat clasping his cock in an intimate embrace. Sucking at her clit, he brought her higher, pumping his finger in and out of her tight channel, keeping the rhythm steady, pacing it to the lift of her hips, the pant of her breaths.

“Shadow!”

As she quivered and arched, he changed his mind. He didn’t want her coming like this. He wanted to feel her come on his cock, wanted to enjoy those hard contractions before they mellowed to pleasant ripples that hugged him as tightly as her arms. To feel her sigh of satisfaction against his skin as he held her in the beauty of the aftermath.

He couldn’t wait any longer. With a last kiss to her clit, he drew back. Pushing down his pants, he lodged himself between her thighs. His cock nestled in the well of her vagina. With a slow push, he entered that first little bit. The delicate muscles clenched in a kiss of welcome. She was sweet. So sweet. So wild. So his.

Bending her knees, she cradled him to her. With a lift of her hips, she invited him in. “Look at me, Fei.”

Her lids lifted slowly. Weaving his fingers through hers, he pinned her hands beside her head. “Let me see it happen.”

With a slow push, he forged in, savoring the sensation of the silky walls caressing his cock, holding her gaze as she held his. Watching her breath catch and her pupils dilate, knowing she was watching him just as closely.

She’d asked him to show her and he didn’t know how else to let her know how it felt to have her in his life. The smiles she brought. The peace she brought. The happiness. She took him all, squeezing him deep within her, shivering with the desire that always arced between them.

Whispering with tenderness, “My Shadow.”

Leaning down, he kissed her lips the way they’d begun. Sweetness in fire. “My Fei.”

“Yes. Yours.”

“Always.”

Her legs wrapped around his waist, her heels pressed into his hips.

“Son of a bitch.” She was stealing his control.

“Please, Shadow. Love me. Now.”

“I am.”

“I love the sweetness, but—” she leaned up and nipped his chest “—I need the fire. I love your fire.”

And that fast the flames burned out of his control. She ground up. He ground down, giving her all he had, taking all she gave. Wanting more. Needing more. Freeing one hand, he brought it between them, centering his thumb on her clit, rubbing firmly as she cried out.

“Oh, my God!”

His balls pulled tight. A tingling grew in the base of his spine. He wasn’t going to last, but he wanted her with him. Always.

She thrashed beneath him in an agony of pleasure. So close he could tell. So close. He continued to rub her clit. “What do you need?”

“You,” she moaned.

“How?”

“Hard.” Digging her heels into the mattress, she thrust up. “I need you hard.”

Hell, he needed that, too.

“Deep.”

“Yes!”

He drove in. She cried out, digging her heels into his back, arching up with her hips, pulling him down with her arms, begging for his kiss, begging for more. He gave her all he had, loving her hard and deep, matching her kiss for kiss, taking her cries as his, her breaths as his, giving her back his moans, his whisper of her name. Giving her everything he had in an explosion that shook him to his core. His Fei. His life.

And then in a whisper only she could hear, he gave her that last piece of himself he’d thought lost so long ago.

“Goddamn, Fei. I love you.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

W
HEN
THE
SOFT
KNOCK
came at the door, Fei didn’t know whether to curse or cheer. It had to be the bath she’d ordered. After several hours of lovemaking she could use a good soak, but soaking meant breaking the tender peace between her and Shadow. There was so much they had yet to discuss. Things that were bound to make him angry. She sighed and snuggled her cheek into his shoulder one last time. The world never wanted to stay away for long. The knock came again. When she would have slid out of bed, Shadow lightly covered her mouth with his hand. Turning his head, he whispered in her ear, “Stand to the left of the door and ask who it is.”

A voice came from the hallway. “You ordered a bath, ma’am?”

Fei slid out of bed, taking the quilt with her to cover herself. The room was registered to her. It was logical they would assume only she was in it. She whispered to Shadow, “It is our bathwater.”

Shadow’s expression remained tense, on guard. “Do as I say.”

Her bow was an instinctive response to an order, which annoyed her, but not to the extent she would foolishly disregard Shadow’s precautions. She’d seen for herself how innocent-looking people could be evil. Doing as told she called out, “Who is it?”

“You ordered a bath from End of the Trail?”

“This is the saloon?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

There was nothing in the man’s voice to elicit suspicion. She looked at Shadow. He stood by the bed, pistols in hand.

“Unlock the door and step back,” he whispered.

Out of the line of fire, she realized. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. “Coming.”

She quickly lifted the bar and moved to the left, against the wall next to the nightstand.

Another glace at Shadow. At his nod, she called, “Come in.”

The door opened without fanfare. A man came in carrying two buckets of steaming water. He barely spared her a look as he turned and backed the last couple steps in. “Bring that tub in, boys, and be careful you don’t nick the walls while you’re at it.”

Two boys, not yet old enough to be sprouting beards, carried in a massive copper tub. Excitement leaped in Fei for a completely different reason. It had been so long since she’d had a real bath.

“Where do you—” The sight of Shadow standing there in nothing but pants and pistols clearly gave the man pause, but not for long. Not taking his eyes off Shadow, he finished, “Where do you want it, ma’am?”

There was only one place where it would fit. “Where you are standing.”

“You heard the lady.”

The boys set the tub down with a bang. “Son of a bitch, if you dent that tub, Jimmy is going to have your asses skinned.”

The boys jumped back. The man poured the first bucket of water into the tub. “Now go get the rest of the hot water up here and don’t be spilling it on the way.”

The boys rushed out of the room.

“It’ll just take a few trips to have this full,” he added in a much softer tone to her.

She bowed before she could catch herself.
“Xei-xei.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. His expression changed in subtle ways. The sound of a pistol cocking snapped his head around.

With a flick of one of the muzzles, Shadow indicated the door. “My wife would like that bath sooner rather than later.”

The respect that had slipped quickly came back to the man’s expression. “Of course.”

He poured the second bucket of water into the tub and left.

As soon as the door closed, she said, “He did not find it so shocking a white woman was with you.”

“I imagine he sees all kinds of things.”

“But when I revealed my ancestry, he lost much respect.”

“People get fool notions.”

“Shadow?” she said, coming to his side.

“What?”

She liked the way he set one pistol down on the table and immediately tucked her in. “I am not hurt, I am annoyed.”

“Ah. Want to borrow my pistol?”

He was smiling. She could hear it in his voice. Looking up, she could see it on his face. Her Shadow was smiling. Not an ear-to-ear grin. He was too contained for that. But a genuine smile that showed off his nice teeth, that showed the man he could have been if the past had been different. She couldn’t help but smile back. “I would rather fetch my dynamite.”

“Hell, no,” he swore as he tipped her face up. “You’ll blow a hole in the tub and the thought of a real bath is too tempting to pass up.”

She feigned disappointment as his hair fell around her face in a silken caress. His lips brushed hers. The sulfur to her fuse. “But I would enjoy it.”

Sliding his fingers through her hair, he tilted her head slightly, smiling differently as she shivered with anticipation. She so did love his kisses. “You’ll enjoy the bath more,” he promised with a growl that just made her shiver again and wrap her arms around his neck.

“You are probably right.”

H
E
WAS
RIGHT
. F
EI
DID
enjoy the bath more, both the lovemaking and the soak. And this moment, she decided, snuggling deeper into his embrace, she liked even better. Sitting before him in the tub, resting back against his chest, feeling his arms surround her with the same thoroughness of the water, feeling the peace around them both. This was a moment of heaven.

“Mmm.” Cupping her breast in his hand, Shadow sighed contentedly. “This was a damn good idea, woman.”

“Thank you.” His thumb passed over her nipple, stirring memories of the passion just spent. It was her turn to sigh.

“You always make me feel so good.”

His grip tightened slightly. “I could say the same.”

Water sloshed in gentle waves as Fei turned on her side to better see his face. His expression was a revelation. “You are nervous.”

“I can hear a
but
tucked inside all that contentment.”

She was not surprised. There were many worries on her mind. “It scared me when you had me answer the door.”

“Just a precaution.”

She slid her hand up his chest. “A necessary one, I understand, but what if there had been problems? What if you had been hurt? Where would I go?”

“Hell’s Eight.”

“This place that even you will not call home? How would it be a home for me?”

“Tia would make sure you were welcome.”

“Who is this Tia?”

“Tia saved our asses. Without her we would have starved to death or been shot for stealing.”

Another strong woman in Shadow’s life. Shadow hadn’t said, but she had the impression his mother had not been so strong.

“How did this happen?”

His big hand cupped her shoulder. “Now’s not the time for sad tales.”

“I would know you, husband.”

“You know all that’s worth knowing.”

“I do not know this.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Stubborn little thing, aren’t you?”

She didn’t answer, just held his gaze until he gave her what she wanted. The smile left his eyes.

“The Mexican army invaded our town.”

“Why?”

“Because it was ripe for the picking. Because they could. Because they had an urge to spill a little blood. Take your pick.”

She winced and rubbed her hand over his chest, the old scars abrading her palm in a reprimand. This was painful for him. “I am sorry. I will not interrupt again.”

Shadow caught her hand and brought it to his lips. “I told you this wasn’t the time.”

She had a feeling there would be no other. “The time is fine. It is my interrupting that is wrong.”

“Fei—”

She cut him off. “I would know this of you.”

“Then listen up because I’m not telling it again.”

She nodded.

“The army came one afternoon. Tracker and I were out hunting. There was no warning. They just rode in and started killing.”

“How old were you?”

His face set in hard lines. “Eleven. Twelve. Old enough to kill.”

A child fighting men. “You were brave.”

“We were pissed, bravery didn’t come into it. By the time we worked our way to the Allens’, it was too late.”

An emotion crossed his face she didn’t understand. “Too late for what?”

“To do a goddamn thing.”

Guilt. The expression on his face was guilt.

“You were a child.”

His eyes were old and haunted when they met hers. “She was good to Tracker and I.”

“Who?”

“Mrs. Allen. Caine’s mother. She was always good to us, never asking questions, just always there with food and medicine. And hugs.” He shook his head as if that were the most amazing thing. “She always gave us hugs.”

“You were perhaps a very sweet boy.”

He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Hell, Tracker and I were little better than animals then. All we knew how to do was get mad and kill.”

She doubted that. The man she knew was not created for nothing.

Thank you for seeing his softness.
She sent the prayer to the unknown woman who had been so much to an unwanted child. To Shadow she said, “And love. You loved her.”

“Did we?”

She had no doubt. “It is in your voice.”

“Maybe. I carried around a whole lot of anger back then.” He shook his head. “The woman was good to everyone and they raped her and gutted her like an animal, leaving her in the dirt like she was nothing.”

“You found her?”

“I don’t remember who did the finding. Just the promise.”