The Circle Eight: Tobias (9 page)

He made a dismissive sound. “You’re a little thing, Becca. You could hardly lift my leg much less move my carcass.”
 

She counted to ten and glanced down at the blanket and saw a very clear ridge of arousal beneath the wool.
 

Sweet heavens.
 

He had an erection. Because she had washed him and scrubbed his scalp. How was she to react to his blatant reaction? She pulled the hip bath toward the bottom of the cot. The sooner started, the sooner finished.
 

Rebecca wrung out the rag and took a deep breath. She had bathed patients before. None of them had a history with her like Tobias did. Perhaps he didn’t need to wash below his waist. She hesitated, her hand poised above the blanket.
 

“It won’t bite.”
 

Rebecca jumped, dropping the rag back into the water and splashing her legs. She let loose an impatient grunt and reached for the rag. “That’s not reassuring.”
 

He barked a sad sounding laugh. “It has a mind of its own. I ain’t got a shred of control.”
 

She believed him. He drank liquor, that much was obvious, and perhaps he had no control over that urge either. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d seen a man imbibe to excess. Sometimes their habit ended in tragedy, and other times in a lonely, quiet grave. She didn’t want either for Tobias.
 

“Sometimes you have to ask for help.” She paused, meeting his one-eyed gaze.
 

“Sometimes you can’t.” His voice was low enough she barely heard him.
 

Although he made her angry enough to bite a penny nail in half, and he had an abrupt way of speaking to everyone around him, he was a good man at his core. He spent months working at the Circle Eight to rebuild it after he burned it to the ground. She’d seen firsthand how much he loved his family. No matter what he said, his actions spoke to who he was. That was the man she had fallen in love with.
 

“Then others have to know when to give you help, like it or not.” She pulled the blanket back and ignored the very hard cock staring her, quite literally, in the face.
 

He choked and coughed as she worked to clean him. His legs also showed signs of bruising and wounds.
 

“Did they kick you too?”
 

“Hell if I know. I was out cold and drunk.” He put his right hand over his face, while his left balled into a fist.
 

She cleaned his legs of dirt, what appeared to be horse shit, straw and small rocks. He had no open wounds, but deep marks in the shape of boots. Anger raced through her at the cruelty shown to a man who could not defend himself. Drunk or not, he didn’t deserve the violence visited upon him.
 

His feet were dirtier than his legs and she wondered when the last time he’d bathed. He kept his hand securely fastened on his face, while his staff maintained a raging erection. Rebecca flattered herself he reacted to her nearness, but he had admitted he had no control over his cock. Any woman would make it sit up and beg.
 

She made her way up his other leg, finding the same injuries and muck. By the time she reached his private parts, she shook with nervous energy.
 

“I need to make a poultice for your bruises and the swelling.”
 

He snorted. “You missed a spot.”
 

Her cheeks heated. “I thought you might want to do that yourself.”
 

“Not hardly. I ain’t been bathed in my life until now. Not that I remember anyway. Don’t leave me waiting.”
 

His plea was heartfelt and it made her body tighten with need and longing. She wanted to touch him, to pleasure him. To quench the answering pulse within her core.
 

“I can’t.” The words were torn from her throat, raw and shaking.
 

“I ain’t gonna beg.”
 

Tobias was helpless and she was supposed to be taking care of him. That meant all of him. She swallowed the lump in her throat and did what needed to be done. Finally he was clean and the water was gray with floating pieces of debris.
 

“Thank you for that.” He took her hand. “I know I was right dirty.”
 

She shrugged, uncomfortable to discuss it any further. “I’m glad to help.”
 

His cock had not lost any of its hardness. It seemed larger than when she started. Her gaze found it again and it twitched. She licked her lips, needing to touch him again. Aching to release her tension and sexual energy.
 

His hand crept up her thigh and she didn’t push him away. She didn’t move, her breath caught like a moth in a jar, fluttering and frantic. His fingers grazed her inner thigh and her pussy clenched in anticipation. “Tell me to stop.”
 

It would be a lie.
 

Time ticked by in seconds lasting minutes and then finally, his hand cupped her heated core. She let out a shaky sigh and her hand reached beneath the blanket. He sucked in a breath when she circled his staff and squeezed.
 

“God, yes.” He dipped his fingers into her moistness and found her sweet spot, stroking her. Each pass heightened her already sensitive nerve endings until she spread her legs, seeking more.
 

Her hand moved of its own volition, as she stroked him from tip to stem. He pushed into her hand, his skin hot and tight against hers. She spread the moisture from the tip around the head and wished she had the courage to taste him. Not now. This was private, clandestine. No one would know what they were doing beneath the folds of the fabric that covered their most secret places.
 

She found herself moving with his hand and hers, their rhythms matched. He hissed out a breath as she increased her pace. There was no sound in the room except their breaths, the thumping of their hearts and the rustle of fabric on hands.
 

Within minutes, her body signaled her release was close. Tingles raced around inside her, coalescing between her legs. She closed her eyes and allowed the orgasm to overtake her. Waves of pleasure crashed over her, pulling a small moan from deep within her.
 

He added his own groan and found his own release in the folds of the blanket, coating her hand with his warm speed. She stroked him until he quieted.
 

Rebecca withdrew her hand at the same time he did. She couldn’t speak as her throat had tightened to the size of a pin. Her body buzzed with the after effects of the last five minutes. She focused on what she could do—clean up.
 

After using the rag on him, she patted him dry and ensured the blanket was wiped clean. She opened the door and pulled the hipbath out to the hall way, took the empty pails, and closed the door. She would clean Will later when she wasn’t shaking so hard her teeth clacked together.
 

What had she done?
 

Tobias stared up at the ceiling, his body throbbing with a combination of pain and release. He pulled in a shaky breath and let it out nice and slow.
 

Holy shit.
 

Somehow he’d pleasured Rebecca while she pleasured him, and they both found release. Together but apart. It was the strangest and most arousing moment of his life.
 

He hadn’t been with a woman in a long time. A few years if he were honest with himself. The stolen time with Rebecca five years ago was a dream he relived when he allowed himself to. Now they had discovered each other again, and the ripe passion that bubbled under the surface.
 

He thought perhaps he imagined what they’d shared in the darkness of a summer night. The intensity couldn’t have been real. The last ten minutes with her hand on his cock proved him wrong. Her touch had been like liquid fire on his skin, tugging him toward an orgasm that made his ears ring.
 

Definitely holy shit.
 

He’d forgotten about his injuries, about Will’s injuries, about everything except Rebecca and her sweet heat on his hand and on his staff. He glanced over at Will and guilt swept through him. They’d misbehaved while his brother lay unconscious across the room. Tobias didn’t want to be that person, but he’d lost control again. He wanted to be more like Will who was a good man, someone who always saw the good in people. He was the youngest of the three brothers, always trying to please everyone, earning other people’s attention and praise. Unlike James and Tobias, Will
was a good-hearted person. He didn’t deserve to die because of a stupid accident.
 

An accident. Why did that word echo in Tobias’s thoughts? It had been an accident, hadn’t it?
 

If he wasn’t a drunk, the three of them would be damn scary if’n they knew what really happened.
 

He began to shake as the missing moments rushed back at him. Perhaps his encounter with Rebecca loosened the cork on his brain allowing the thoughts to reemerge.
 

That son of a bitch looks as bad as he smells.
 

The men in the barn had been talking. He’d been in the stall, listening.
 

Lucky James was helping Donovan with that mare or he woulda seen. He mighta killed me for it.
 

If Will wakes up pointing a finger, we can say the tree must’ve scrambled his memory.
 

You shoulda made sure he was dead.
 

White-hot fury raced through him. Those bastards had tried to
kill
Will, to make sure he died, but why? What had the boy done to deserve it? Tobias burned with the urge to find those three men and finish what he started. They probably would have killed him too if James hadn’t stopped them.
 

He struggled to sit up but dizziness grabbed hold of him, sending him right back to the cot. He needed to get up and talk to those three men. Tobias would not allow them to get away with hurting his brother. He’d kill them.
 

“You look like a man contemplating bad things, Gibson.”
 

Tobias glanced up to see a stocky man in the doorway with a tin star on his chest, his expression dark and hard. “Do I know you?”
 

“No, but I reckon you will. Name’s Ellis.” The stranger leaned against the doorframe and nodded toward Will. “He still asleep then?”
 

“He ain’t sleeping. He’s unconscious. Three bastards tried to kill him.” Tobias’s voice shook with the rage that threatened to erupt.
 

“That’s not how I heard it. A tree fell on him.” Ellis shrugged. “I ain’t here about him. I came to arrest you for trying to kill Travers, Johnston and Bekins.”
 

At first Tobias didn’t understand what the lawman said. The words made no sense. Maybe he had too many punches to the head.
 

“What the hell are you talking about?”
 

“Johnston’s got a busted arm. All three look worse than you. They claim you attacked them, tried to kill ’em. I gotta do my duty and arrest you.” Ellis spoke as though he had already convicted Tobias for the crime.
 

“That’s a pile of horseshit. I didn’t do nothing but defend my brother.” Black spots danced behind his eyes and he had the horrified thought that he would pass out. “I heard them bastards say they should have made sure Will was dead. They tried to kill him.”
 

Ellis looked doubtful. “Sounds like a story to cover up why you tried to kill them.”
 

“That ain’t fucking true. I was sleeping in the barn when I heard them talking. Ask them how one man tried to kill them and they didn’t just shoot me dead.” Tobias could hardly catch his breath and blood pounded through him. He’d never been so angry in his life, not even when he’d burned the Circle Eight. These were the three men who tried to kill his little brother. Fucking bastards.
 

“You surprised them. And I heard you was drunk to boot.” Ellis folded his arms. “Bekins ain’t known to lie. He’s an honest man and I believe him.”
 

“Then you’re as stupid as they are.” Tobias’s head was going to explode and he could hardly see. He tried to get up and fell back to the cot again.
 

“What is going on here?” Rebecca’s voice cut through the haze of anger.
 

Ellis straightened and looked behind him. “Doc. I didn’t see you there.”
 

“Obviously. I told you to leave and I meant it. Neither of my patients are up to having visitors.” Rebecca pushed her way into the room, her expression full of thunder.
 

“I have the law behind me, Doc. This man is a criminal.”
 

“No you have accusations from three men who almost beat him to death. He will not move from that cot for at least a week.” She put her hands on her hips and stuck her lovely chin in the air. “Now get out.”
 

Deputy Ellis scowled at her, a nasty expression on his face. “You have a big mouth for a little girl.”
 

“I’m not a little girl. I’m a Graham and not only do I know how to use every firearm and knife known to man, but I’m a Texan too. I don’t give up, I don’t give in and I sure don’t let bullies win.” She took hold of the door with whitened knuckles. “If you don’t leave and stay gone, I will ask Mr. Donovan to kick you off the ranch. You have no right to harass me or my patients.”
 

Tobias was as flabbergasted as Ellis, considering the man’s mouth hung by its hinges. Rebecca was amazing and humbling. She put the man in his place with her marvelous tongue and her equally impressive brain. It was no wonder he was in love with her.
 

Tobias choked on his own spit. He was in love with her? Was that true? How had that happened and why had it taken five years to admit it?