Natalie Acres: Wanted by outlaws

“Get some shut eye. We’ll stop to water the team here and there. That’s gonna be it until we reach Cripple Creek.”

“You think that’s gonna be it, do you?” Luke let his eyes drift over Emily’s body. Her breasts pushed through her plain thin dress and she shivered when he stared. She realized her body reacted to Levi and Luke once they moved closer to her.

“How come we’re headed there?” she asked.

“It’s a booming town, we hear. Lots of gold and strangers rushing in and out means we can blend in pretty good, or we should,” Clay shouted over his shoulder before he snapped the reins and encouraged the horses to pick up their pace.

Emily watched her old mare struggle to keep up. “She’s gonna need some rest. I think we’re safe to stop soon, don’t you?”

Levi shook his head. “Can’t be sure, exactly. By the time I started back by your place, I could’ve sworn the earth shook with the sounds of hooves pounding in the distance but it’s hard to say. I guess with the right form of entertainment, anything is possible.”

“Knock it off, Levi,” Luke growled. “Don’t pay him any mind.” He pulled the brim of his hat down over his brow and hunkered down into the depths of his coat about the time Levi draped his arm over Emily’s shoulder.

“Are you cold?” Levi asked.

“Not so much. You can snuggle up under these blankets with me, if you want to.”

Luke tilted his hat up and shot Levi a knowing grin. Levi wrestled with the edge of the material and took her up on the offer. At the same time, Luke followed suit.

The second their bodies were under the blankets, each of them reached for her hands. She held them for a second, shifted and then had a sudden thought. She needed something to amuse her.

She dropped their hands, crossed her own gently over her breasts and allowed them to reach for each other without knowing the difference, at least not at first.

Levi twisted around and a few minutes later, she felt Luke’s arm move with the gentle suggestion. Both cowboys looked startled and immediately yanked the coverlets down to find they were holding hands with one another.

“What the—” Luke yanked his arm back.

“You were trying to hold my hand!” Levi hollered.

“You stroked my thumb,” he snarled. “Bastard, can’t you keep your hands to yourself?”

Emily giggled until she couldn’t contain it. The more she watched the cowboys blush, the more she felt inspired to let out a rip-roaring good laugh. She started rolling with a good, hearty chuckle.

“I didn’t know you men liked each other so well,” she said.

“Why, you devil woman you.” Luke started tickling her and Levi held her down.

“She’s cute as a little filly.” Levi watched her squirm.

“Yeah, but you have to break the young, you know.”

“Uh-huh, you do,” Clay shouted over his back with a snort. “I reckon you think you’re the man for the job.”

Holding her arms above her head, Levi pinned her wrists under his and watched her chest rise and fall. His gaze remained on her breasts as Luke’s hands went from her ribcage to her nipples.

The laughter fell quiet and she stopped moving. The heat rose between them.

He scraped his thumbs over her nipples again. This time he took it upon himself to do it slow. He moved over them in a circular motion before he pinched them tight.

“That’s sore,” she said. “It hurts.”

“They roughed her up around her tits,” Clay said. “Don’t mess with them.”

“You’re funny, Clay. If you don’t want your cousins touching me, you’d better come on back here and do something about it.”

He pulled back on the reins and stopped the team. “All right. I will. You all want to stop here for the night and risk getting caught by that posse coming? I’m willing to chance it for a roll on the ground all night with Emily but then what? Huh? Marshall Coe is going after blood—ours and hers. Now can you keep the horseplay to a minimum so I can drive these horses?”

“I think it’s gonna be all right, Clay. I swear it. If everything goes according to plan, Coe and his men will find the dead, read her note, and have plenty to keep them busy. They’ll ride back to Central City to look for her.”

“Maybe you’re right but I’m not gonna take a chance. I know the Marshall in Cripple Creek. We won’t have any problems there once I talk to him. You’ll see. This here pleasure can wait.”

She batted her eyes. “And just what if it can’t?”

“I reckon you’ve kept your legs closed for the better part of the last year, the least you can do is wait for me to open them for you again.”

“You’d like it if I waited, wouldn’t you?”

“Flirt,” he said. “And I’d like it very much. I have plans for that pretty little pussy.”

“Yeah, they do too,” she pointed at Luke and then Levi, who quickly nodded.

“You’d better believe I’ve got a mind to do all sorts of man and woman things to her right here in this wagon,” Luke admitted.

With a huff, Clay turned back to the reins and snapped them over the horses. “Let’s get it, boys. I got a woman to breed.”

“Breed?” She looked at Luke. Heaven help her if Levi gave an opinion now.

Levi answered anyhow, “He means screw but he figures you’re the proper type who wouldn’t want to hear it.”

Emily put her hand over her mouth and hid an outburst.

Luke leaned over and whispered, “He doesn’t know how intimate our conversations got, Emily. I never told him.”

She guessed as much. They’d even talked about doing the dirty deed and called it what it was—fucking.

After a quiet ride deeper into the darkness on somewhat rough paths, they found a smooth trail and headed for the river. "We gotta let the horses rest for a bit," Clay declared as he hopped down from the wagon.

He peered over at the others and Luke pressed his fingers to his lips. Levi did the same.

"She's asleep?" he asked.

Luke kissed the top of her head. "Looks like it. She's gotta be tired. Think about what she's been through.”

"I had a thought," Levi said.

"Let's hear it," Clay called over his shoulder before he started working with the leather harness. "It's sure enough a good one if you have one. Lord knows it's rare when you do."

Levi never acted insulted. "If Emily ain't ever been with a man, then we shouldn't try to take her in this wagon."

"Yep, like I said, if you've got a thought, it's a good one. Since I’m not back there with the three of ya, I couldn’t agree more."

Levi hopped out of the wagon and started toward his cousin. "I'm talking about it from a gentleman's standpoint. Assuming I can learn how to act like one with Emily. You know, try to do things right rather than just rush right in, leave money on the table and drop my pants."

"You mean you don't plan to screw her with your boots on?" Luke chuckled as he joined them. He led Emily's horse out in front.

"No, I don't and I don't think you should either."

"Well, I sure would if it was the only way to get to her," Luke admitted.

"It ain't gonna happen," Levi firmly told him. "She deserves better than us groping at her in the middle of some open range. I'm not doing it and you ain't either."

"I ain't?" Luke drawled. "What if she reaches over and pats my cock all gentle like, then what?"

Clay nodded in her direction and grinned. "You had a nice nap."

"Yes, I did," she placed her hands on her hips, "and an earful to wake me up."

"Oh," Levi said tugging the lead horse by the leather strap before he pulled him away from the team. "About that—"

"Shut up, Levi," Luke warned. "Just shut up now."

She stretched her arms out in front of her. "So nobody here is interested in fucking me in the wagon?"