“Now count. Out loud. That was two.”
His hand claps down again, harder than the first. My legs jerk, but his arm pins me tight.
“I said count,” he commands.
I weep, the tears drawn out of me. “Three.” The word nearly lodges in my throat. How dare he discipline me? I’m a woman, not a wayward child.
As the fourth strike lands and I call out the number, the sting radiates, not just as pain but as something else—a sudden bewildering sensation. Before I could make sense of it, his hand strikes down again. My breath catches, a flush of heat spreading through me, pooling damp between my thighs.
“Alice, if you forget to count again. I’m adding twenty more.”
“Five,” I whimper, pressing my thighs together. The humiliation of being bent over, the bite of his hand, the stern authority in his voice, all twists together.
Another hit and my body jolts. “Six.” The room whirls around me. I cry, gripping the sheets for dear life.
By ten, I’m fighting against my mind, tempted to idle, to freeze in the sensation of it, but the fear of more punishment reinvigorates me, forcing the next number past my lips. I’m gasping, sobbing. By twenty, I wilt over his knee, body shaking with something more than anguish.
His broad palm soothes then, caressing my backside in slow circles so gently I nearly moan. Hauling me up, he cradles me on his lap like I’m fragile after all. The air is too warm, his presence too close, and when I shift, a slick sensation makes me bite my lip, startled.
His calloused thumb sweeps away my tears, his lips press against my temple.
“Ain’t the money, lamb,” he says somberly. “Hell, I’d shower you with gold if you’d only asked. It’s trust I want.” He reaches into his coat and pulls out a thick roll of bills, gently pressing it into my trembling hand. “Take this. Feed every damn orphan in New Orleans if you want. You run out, you ask me for more. You steal again, we’re done. Understand me?”
I nod, cheeks wet, body shaking from the sting and the want it ignited deep inside me.
“Need you to say it.”
I answer, breath hitching. “As long as I am yours, I won’t take without asking.”
His mouth curves into a sly grin, and he pulls me closer, tightening his hold around me.
God help me, I’ve never wanted him more. I swore I’d never belong to any man again, not after Joseph. Yet here I am, aching for the very thing I swore to despise. He is an outlaw, thief, and murderer, and yet, I trust him when he says he wants only what is best for me. And though I once prayed never to be possessed, the thought of being his and his alone sets my soul on fire.
Chapter 21
KODIAK
Aspanking ain’t one of the consequences I’m used to handing out. Traveling in the company of a lady is proving to be more difficult than I’d surmised. Knew she was pure—hell, it’s one of the traits that made me most fond—but I ain’t expect the things that come along. She builds castles in the air, getting romantic ideas ’bout everything. She’s gonna save the world’s children. Put an outlaw on a holy path. Reckon she don’t even know real danger. Otherwise, I’d bet she wouldn’t make the mistake of stealing from the likes of Kodiak Randolph thinking she’s getting some kinda Robin Hood justice.
We’re skin to skin now, all the fight wrung out, her breath soft where it fans across my chest. I brush a few strands of hair from her cheek, watching her lashes flutter like she might drift off but won’t dare just yet. Had to discipline her, but now her skin holds the flush from showing her my kinder side after. Hadn’t needed words to make it right. She’d understood me just fine when her legs wrapped around me, moaning my name like a prayer.
Now, she’s curled in tight, my arm around her, holding her close. We’ll be leaving at first light, and the thought of one of Sherman’s boys busting in guns blazing keeps me alert. If it were just me, I’d sleep as sound as I usually do with a rich bounty on my head, pistol at my side, rifle cross my chest. But Alice?
When I think of losing her, it’s like all my insides collapsing, heart racing, mind a swirl of fear. Ain’t right. But I can’t help it. Of all my ill-got gains, she’s my most treasured. Now I’m wearing my heart raw outside my chest. The panic that goes along with that makes me hold her tighter.
“Bear?” she whispers in the dark, sweet as can be, head resting on my arm.
“Yes, lamb?”
“I know you said it’s dangerous to stay, but…Sherman has eyes in every city. It wouldn’t surprise me if they had already notified all of their hotels to be on the lookout.”
“You’re right ’bout that. But don’t lose sleep over them. Long as you’re with me, I’ll keep you safe.”
She nuzzles closer, her arm draped over me, wrapped in a sheet. “Well, I wonder what we have to gain by running? If we’re just as endangered anywhere as we are here, maybe we should stay.”
I stroke her hair, smooth as silk. “Ain’t about runnin’, but a man like me can’t linger anywhere too long. Long as you’re movin’, you’re stayin’ one step ahead.”
“When do you ever rest? Put down roots?”
