Twin of Ice (Montgomery/Taggert 6)

“For Pam?”

“You’re damned curious ’bout her. Jealous?”

“Not since you told me you turned her down.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t tell women secrets.”

“Would you like me to be jealous?”

Kane considered this. “I wouldn’t mind it. At least you know I turned Pam down. I ain’t heard nothin’ like that about Westfield.”

She kissed the hand that was idly fondling her breast, knowing quite well she’d told him about Leander several times. “I turned him down at the altar,” she said softly.

Kane tightened his arms a bit. “I guess you did at that. Course, he ain’t got near as much money as me.”

“You and your money! Don’t you know anything else? Like kissing, perhaps?”

“I have unleashed a monster,” he laughed but showed no reluctance in obeying her wish.

“Behave yourself,” he said when he at last turned her back around. “I ain’t got as much stamina as you have. Don’t forget that compared to you I’m an old man.”

With a giggle, Houston wiggled her bottom in his lap.

“And I’m gettin’ older by the minute. Now sit still! Gates was right to lock you two women up.”

“Will you lock me away?” Houston whispered, leaning her head into his neck and chin.

He took so long to answer that she turned to look at him. “I might,” he finally answered, then, in an obvious attempt to change the subject, he said, “You know, I ain’t talked so much about stuff other’n business in years.”

“What did you talk to your other women about?”

“What other women?”

“The others. Like Miss LaRue.”

“I don’t ‘member ever talkin’ to Viney about anything.”

“But the nice part is afterward, lying like this together, and talking.”

He ran his hand down her body. “I guess it is pretty nice at that. But cain’t say as I’ve ever done it before. I guess after we . . . I guess I just went home. You know, I don’t even ’member wantin’ to lay around like this. Fat waste of time,” he said, but he made no attempt to move away from her. Houston snuggled closer to him.

“Cold?”

“No, I’m the warmest I’ve ever been.”

Chapter 19

Houston looked up at Kane from the cabin bed, watching him dress, and knew that her short honeymoon was over. “I guess we have to go,” she said sadly.

“I have a couple of men comin’ this mornin’ and I can’t afford to miss ’em.” He turned to look back at her. “I wish I could spend more time up here but I can’t.”

There was sadness in his voice, too, and Houston decided to help rather than fight him. Quickly, she got out of bed and began to dress in her riding clothes. Kane had to help her with the ties to her corset.

“How in the world can you breathe in that blasted thing?”

“I don’t think breathing has anything to do with it. I thought you liked the curves of women. With no corseting, we’d soon all have twenty-seven-and twenty-eight-inch waists. Besides, the corset supports a woman’s back. They’re really quite healthful.”

Kane merely grunted and finished shoving food into the cloth bags. She could tell that his mind was already back on his work.