Closer To You (Tales of the Sweet Magnolia Book 1) Page 6

  Not realizing that by speaking to him by name, she’d just given the outlaw his winning card, Jake let out a quiet sigh, his brain scrambling for a new plan.

  “Well, now, it seems you and the sheriff are on familiar terms, is that it? I’m sorry, Jake…” he mimicked. The stranger’s black eyes narrowed. “This little filly your gal, Sheriff?” A menacing grin crawled over his murderous-looking face.

  “You filthy beast.” Lilly elbowed the man in the stomach and stomped her heel on his boot, causing a distraction that allowed Jake to make it up the stairs. But before he could reach Lil, the man yanked her against him so hard that her feet came clean off the floor. The stench of whiskey mingled with her sweet jasmine scent.

  Jake held out his hand, hoping to reason with the man. “I assure you there is nothing between the lady and me. Go on and tell him, Lil,” Jake instructed, tossing her a brief look and not letting his gaze linger. He needed her to go along with him on this; he was just about out of ideas of how to settle this amiably.

  “I—” she started.

  “Go on now, Lillian. No more of your stories, just tell him the truth.” Jake’s voice was tight with concern. Why wouldn’t the bull-headed woman just work with him? He chanced a quick look at her and received an icy stare.

  “It’s true. I’d sooner die than be caught within ten feet of him.” There was poison in her tone.

  “Is that a fact?” Her captor slid his hand over the front of Lilly’s gown, his purpose to taunt Jake, of that he was certain, since it was damn well working. His emotionless eyes held Jake’s as he blatantly groped her and flashed a grisly smile. “That’s good to know, Sheriff, since Miss Lilly and me, we’re gonna take a little ride.”

  She held still, her chin high, keeping her gaze straight ahead.

  “Come on, sweetheart.” The burly man pulled her along, holding her as a shield, his gun fixed on her side as he stepped around Jake. He backed down the steps, one at a time and Jake slowly followed, his mind racing to think of a plan. The big man stopped, hauling Lilly close. “Where’s your horse, Sheriff? I figure that little snitch had to take mine, or you wouldn’t be here. Unless, of course, you’re here for personal reasons.”

  “You won’t get far. Let her go, take my horse. She’ll only impede your getaway.” Jake tried once more to reason with the man.

  “Ah now, I can’t do that. I came in here to find a woman to relieve my need, and well, I’m going to see to that one way or another. ‘Sides, you’re not likely missing much with this one. Says she’s the librarian type, which as it happens, is how I like my women.” An evil chuckle emitted from his throat and he leaned over, sliding his tongue up her cheek.

  That was enough, dammit.

  Jake closed the gap between them and leapt through the air, his gun drawn. Taking advantage of the man’s surprise, Jake reached for Lil, knocking her out of the man’s grasp. As the dazed stranger searched for his gun, Jake drove his fist into the man’s gut, sending him stumbling down the remaining steps. There was just enough time to see Lilly scrambling to safety behind the bar, before his opponent found his gun and cocked the trigger with her in his sights. “Put the gun down,” Jake yelled and dived toward him.

  The man rolled to his back, and squeezed off a shot, grazing Jake’s hip as he landed on the bulk of a man. His brain registered a loud scream and then a dull crack jarred his skull.

  Screams filled the air and he heard Paddy’s boots stomping past him, followed by another loud crack of rifle shot. “And don’t come back unless you plan to stay for all eternity, you no-good bastard,” Paddy shouted.

  Pain throbbed from Jake’s thigh and a searing heat radiated across his right butt cheek. He’d been shot, how bad he didn’t know. Everything swam before him in a watery pattern. “Lil—” He tried to see if she was all right, but the fire burning in his leg stopped his words. With a trembling hand, he brushed his fingers over his temple. Blood smeared on his fingers, running down his wrist. Another shot rang from outside, but try as he might, he couldn’t move. He rolled to his back and let out a blood-curdling yowl, arching his butt off the floor. Jesus have mercy, he’d been shot in the buttocks. Lilly’s lovely face appeared over him, a watery wash of tenderness shone in her eye. Jake was having trouble thinking straight.

  “Get him upstairs. Get some hot water.” Lilly ushered the group of women who’d appeared in a circle, hovering above him.

  “That thief stole the sheriff’s horse,” he heard one woman say.

  “I ain’t never seen anyone skedaddle so fast.” Jake thought the voice belonged to the cook.

  “Did anyone get hurt?” Jake pushed through the fog in his brain. “The girls…outside?” He moaned at the effort that it took to think. He was suddenly very tired. Maybe if he closed his eyes and rested for just a moment…. “We need some bandages, a bottle of whiskey. It might come in handy.” Lilly barked out orders and Jake felt his body lifted off the floor.

  “The girls, Lil. Are they okay?”

  “They’re fine, Jake. They came in the back door as that asshole left out the front. Hurry now,” Lilly coaxed. “Take him to my room.”

  “Aw, good, that’s good.” He fought his muddled thoughts. Had someone just mentioned Lil’s room? “Just get me to town. I think I need a doctor.” He grimaced as they jostled his body.

  “You haven’t got a horse and we’d be wasting time,” Lilly spoke with her usual authoritative tone. “Besides, you’re bleeding all over this beautiful rug. Lucky for you, I have some experience in first aid. Now, be still and let these good people get you to my bed.”

  He surrendered. Lil’s bed. The thought made him smile just before his world went black.

  ***

  The erotic images in his dreams were wild, but left him feeling wonderful. Jake drifted lazily, the fog in his brain dissipating with an alarming awareness. His eyes came open and without thinking, he sat straight up in bed. With the intensity of a thunderbolt, pain sliced up his spine. His own scream bounced off the room.

  “Sheriff Sloan,” a familiar voice cajoled, “I suggest that you quiet down or the other clients will wonder what it is I am doing in here to our esteemed man of the law.”

  Jake dropped back on the bed, attempting to bring his heart rate back under control. He squeezed his eyes tight against the pain radiating from his cheek— and not the one on his face. “How long have I been out?” He spoke through clenched teeth. Not ready yet to delve into why his butt hurt like fire, he kept his eyes shut.

  “Long enough.”

  Jake sensed when she moved next to him, her flowers and sunshine scent wafted past his nose. He chanced a quick peek at her through hooded lids; the bright day caused his head to ache. “Long enough? Long enough…for what, exactly?”

  “As if you’d be very good in that capacity at present, Sheriff,” Lil teased with an ornery grin.

  The unexpected stab at his virility caused what was beneath the coverlet to twitch. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Lillian, please, how long have I been out?” He rubbed the heels of his hands over his closed eyes and attempted to clear his head. Good lord, there was no telling what kind of rumors were spreading through town. And what about Preacher? Jake wouldn’t hear the end of it when he found out that he’d been convalescing in the town’s parlor house. He shifted his leg and realized with a sudden clarity that he was stark naked beneath the quilt. Jake’s heart started to thud and other parts of his anatomy awakened to the idea of who might have undressed him. He swallowed hard and shoved his thoughts in another direction. Lilly seemed unfazed that he lay in her bed, and Jake wasn’t sure how he felt about that, though that was short-lived when he asked about his wounds. “Was there a bullet?”

  She glanced at him as she poured water from a pitcher into a large bowl. “Your head wound was worse. Seemed that you clipped your head on a table in the process of coming to my aid, but to answer your question, the bullet sailed clean through one of your butt cheeks. Doc said you were lucky. At
that range, it could have shattered the bone.” She smiled. “And lucky for you, I took a first-aid class on emergency disaster training. Doc didn’t get here until late last night. Paddy didn’t want to send anyone to town alone in case that asshole was still out there.

  So we waited until Angel finally showed up with Mr. Greensboro.”

  Emergency Disaster training? “So that was last night?”

  “Oh, no, that was two days ago,” Lil remarked casual as you please.

  “Did you undress me?” He stared at his toes peeking out of the end of her bed.

  She busied with tearing an old sheet into rags, laying them by the water basin.

  “With Paddy and cook’s help. You haven’t got anything that I haven’t seen before. Still, you should count your lucky stars that gunman’s aim was so bad. I could be as easily preparing you for your funeral, instead of your bath.”

  “A bath?” Jake was still wrestling with the idea that he’d been undressed by Lil and in her bed for two straight days and hadn’t even enjoyed it. “Wait a minute.

  Are you saying that I should have handled the situation differently?” She shrugged, keeping her eyes from meeting his.

  “Well now, ain’t that gratitude for you,” Jake stated with a sour taste in his mouth. What he’d give for a shot of whiskey about now.

  “I didn’t say I wasn’t grateful,” she replied dipping the cloth once more. He watched rivulets of water skitter down her arm, tempting him to learn the scent of her skin, its taste. It was almost enough to make him forget how if she’d gone along with him that he might not be in this particular predicament.

  “You took an awful risk. You might have been hurt,” she continued quietly.

  “Much worse than you are.”

  That was enough for him to turn the corner on his anger. Truth was, he made the decision to jump the guy. That wasn’t Lil’s choice. “I’m sorry. It’s me who ought to thank you for putting up with me. The notion both roused and frightened him and if his guess was right, the way she was playing with those rags, she was every bit as nervous as he was. That cinched up his arousal another notch and slapping himself mentally, he decided the best thing to do was to get out of there, the sooner, the better. He eyed the bowl of water teetering on the bed by his elbow. Yep, a mighty bad idea. He lifted a curious gaze to her. “You think you could hand me my clothes?”

  “I thought you might need a bath first.”

  “Well now, no, I don’t think so.” He shook his head albeit gently, as he still felt dizzy. “I don’t think that’s necessary.” He was grateful of course that she’d allowed him to convalesce in her bed, but a bath? He shifted away from her as best he could and shook his head. “No. Thank you kindly, just the same.”

  “If you’re worried that I might take unfair advantage of you, I promise to be on my best clinical behavior.”

  Clinical? The woman had some mighty fancy words in her vocabulary. She placed a delicate hand on one hip and pinned him with a wicked smile. “Unless, of course, you ask me…politely.”

  Heat flared in his belly rendering him speechless.

  “Besides, I was only going to do the top half. The doctor suggested that it might help after your fever broke.”

  “I had a fever?” For the life of him, Jake couldn’t remember the past two days.

  “I’m afraid so. There was so much flailing around and moaning and groaning, it made even some of my girls blush.” Lil grinned.

  She was teasing him. Jake looked away and smiled.

  “They assumed it was the fever, of course—that’s Doc Bennett’s explanation.” She flicked him a grin and when she shrugged, the frilly strap of her lace camisole slipped to her elbow, revealing her slender pale shoulder.

  Jake’s flesh heated, but his fever was due to Lilly. But to explain how she was the reason for his sleepless nights while in her bed was probably taking advantage of the situation. Still the truth was there. He’d been thinking about her a lot more lately than he cared to admit, and that was as dangerous in other ways than what they’d been through.

  Given his vulnerable state, the idea of her nursing him back to health was not a good idea. It would be better if he was recuperating in town. “Do you think I might be able to get some help back to the jailhouse?” He moved his hip gingerly, trying to ease out of the bed and stiffened at the sharp jolt, landing flat on his back. “Damn, if I ever get my hands on that guy….” he muttered, sighing with relief as the soreness subsided. “Sorry, Lil” The red satin sheets felt cool on his feverish skin. He couldn’t lie. It felt wonderful lying in her bed. His only regret that he wasn’t well enough to thank her like he’d like to.

  “Doc Bennett suggested that since the house was not terribly busy that you just as well stay put and let your wound”—she nodded to his lower half— “heal proper.”

  “I can’t stay here. I have duties in town. There’s a town meeting this week—I think it’s this week.” He pressed his fingers to his forehead. He was having the damnedest time keeping the days straight. “I’m supposed to be meeting with my campaign committee.”

  “They’re welcome to meet here in a few days when you’re feeling better.” She gave him a business-like look.

  Jake tried not to let his skepticism show and realized that she was dead serious. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  She sighed heavily and shook her head. Was she aware that as she leaned forward the loose-fitting camisole revealed the creamy curves of her firm breasts? His fingers itched to reach out and slide his palm over one gentle slope, to cup the sweet mound of flesh that he believed would fit perfectly in his palm.

  As if aware of his thoughts, Lilly tugged the flimsy ruffle back on her shoulder cutting off his view. “Well, the doctor said you shouldn’t be out of bed for a couple of days at any rate.” Lil focused on the rag in her hand. “Now, are you going to cooperate or am I going to have to call in my girls?”

  Jake glanced up at her face. There was no arguing with the woman. Held prisoner in her bed and for more reasons than one, he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Jake nodded. “Fine.”

  ***

  Lilly regarded him, trying to find the best way to get through touching his glorious body with the least amount of complications. “If you could maybe sit up and lean to the right, we can get you a little freshened up. It’s bound to help you rest more comfortably.” She leaned down and slid her arm under his shoulders. His scent was masculine, his body warm from sleep, and the flesh and muscle beneath her hands felt firm and sleek. “Work with me here, Sheriff,” she grunted, tugging without much success on his shoulders. He wouldn’t budge. “You seem awfully weak, yet.”

  Lillian looked down, following the sheriff’s gaze to the gap her position created in her camisole. If nothing else, it appeared that his eyesight was working just fine. “Are you enjoying the view, Sheriff?”

  “What?”

  It was obvious she’d interrupted his assessment of her cleavage.

  Again.

  “Lillian, you know that I don’t—”

  “Right, no touching. Got it. But it does seem you enjoy looking a great deal.” She paused in her struggle to lift him, aware that the good sheriff may say one thing, but his actions had been telling her different from the night they’d met.

  “I know those rigid rules you’ve placed on yourself. Can you truly deny that you aren’t just a little curious?” Lillian’s breath caught as his dark eyes slowly lifted to hers. His lips formed into a thin flat line indicative of his frustration. The light snap of the curtains blowing in the breeze punctuated the silence.

  “Would it help to know that I’ve thought about you touching me as much as I’m guessing maybe you’ve thought about doing so?” Lilly mustered her courage, still leaning over him, her arm crooked around his shoulder. “I owe you a great debt of gratitude. You saved my life, Sheriff Sloan. I won’t ever forget that.”

  “I was doing my job, Lil. I would have done the same for anyone.”


  “Of course you would, that’s the type of honorable man you are. It was all in the line of duty, of course. Forgive me if I embarrassed you by offering my thanks.” She smiled, trying not to let his clipped response hurt. She loosened her grip and started to walk away.

  “Lilly….”

  She hesitated. The raw hunger in his eyes caused her breasts to tighten. “I’ll come back a little later.”

  His hand snapped around her wrist. “Don’t go.”

  She regarded him for a moment, then eased from his gasp. Hesitating a moment, she eased the door shut, her fingers lingering briefly on the lock before she turned it. She mustered her courage and faced him. She’d never truly seduced a man in her life. Fortunately, but he didn’t know that.

  “What about your rules?” Lillian wanted to be sure that whatever happened between them, it was based on mutual desire.

  “Since it seems that I’m unable to leave, then perhaps too, the rules are not exactly the same.”

  “And if you were able to leave, would you?”

  The heat in his eyes nearly undid her. “Not if my life depended on it.” He reached in the bowl, squeezed his fist around the dripping rag, and held it out to her.

  She took the rag, deciding to follow her heart, or forever wonder if she should have. He might just as well have tossed a match at her, because her flesh was on fire. She watched his face etched with determination as he pushed himself upright. The muscles in his arms bulged under the strain as he managed to brace himself long enough for her to adjust the pillows for support behind his back. Though he was convalescing, the view of his rock hard torso caused the butterflies in her stomach to go from flutters to full-fledged flight.

  Lilly drew down the sheets stopping short of where the thin line of dark hair disappeared beneath the covers. She flicked him a glance. “Are you comfortable?”

  “This is the best I’ve felt in a long time, Lil.” He reached up and brushed back the hair from her face, letting his fingers trail feather-soft down her cheek. “Why don’t you sit down?” His smile was genuine and that look of reverence tugged dangerously at her heart.