Carla hurriedly poured Heck a cup of coffee and handed it to him. Frank watched them with knowing eyes. A smile tugged at his lips and he returned to his rocking chair by the fire. After some quiet moments, he wagged his fingers between them. “The two of you have gotten close. Haven’t ya?”
“No, Sir,” Carla said, aware of her cheeks heating.
Heck stared at her as if he were truly bothered by her quick reply. “I’d say we’re friends.” He drank from his cup. Smacking his lips, he quickly added, “Wouldn’t you say that much, Carla?”
She grabbed a broom and swept their dirt floor, paying close attention to the area around the fireplace. “Oh sure. We’re friends.” Feeling Frank’s burning gaze, she paused long enough to study him more intently. “We’re in the same pack, Frank. Of course we’re friends.”
Frank moistened those thick lips and for a smidgen of a second, his dark eyes looked a tad darker. His gaze was hooded, wrought with lust as much as concern. As if he suddenly had a thought, he jolted forward and stood. “Heck, let’s burn the breeze. Take a ride with me.”
“That’s not the smartest option right now,” Jock said, returning inside. He handed off his cup to Carla. “Did you pay attention to the posters there? Dead or alive means they’ll probably be coming for us soon.”
“Which ‘they’ are you referring to?” Frank asked. “If I know your boy, he’s sipping a Brigham Young cocktail and has his sights set on getting all liquored up this morning. After painting Laramie brown with those posters there, he probably feels like it’s only a matter of time before some bounty hunter drags us back pitching fits and making threats.”
“I won’t argue there,” Jock said. “Knowing Grant, he’s already scheduled a hangin’, too.”
Frank turned to Heck. “Come to think of it, Jock is right. I’ll speak with the pack on our way out. They’ll be here to help guard the place. Jock, let’s take a ride. If anyone can handle Grant, you can.”
Carla rushed him. “Don’t do it, Frank. You can’t go to Laramie now. If you grabbed those posters while you were in town this mornin’, folks either didn’t pay attention to a free man walking around at will or they kept you in their sights. They know you’re aware they’re coming for us. That means they’ll be riding out while you’re riding in.”
“Then I guess we’ll ride with our pistols cocked.” He shot her a wink. “Oh now listen here, honey. We’re counting on trouble, but the good thing about these posters is we’re gonna see danger before it sneaks up on us in the dead of night. We’re ready for it.”
“Besides, now’s a good time to go if we’re going. Grant is a morning lapper. By the time we reach Laramie, the new marshal will be drinking hard. Those bounty hunters will be riding even harder. No one will ever think to look for us at the jail.”
“What about Carla?” Heck asked.
“What about her?” Frank asked, leaning over and kissing her cheek.
“The locals were tearin’ up Jake, making a terrible racket that is, as they spread the news as fast as they could spread it. Telegraphs were sent out advising others about the large reward offered for the two of you.” Heck frowned. “And Carla has a bounty on her pretty little head, too. Grant wants her alive, but he still wants her.”
“Yes, I read all about that,” Frank said. “Guess that means you’ll need to pay close attention to Carla today.”
Carla and Heck locked gazes. She couldn’t tap into his head then and that greatly disturbed her. One of the things she loved about being an Alpha female was her ability to hear her pack members’ thoughts. When she’d first mated with Jock and Frank, they’d told her she wouldn’t be able to hear the other wolves’ thoughts. Turns out, they couldn’t hear hers, but she could listen to them anytime she wanted. The only exception was her mates. They could tap into her mind whenever they saw fit.
“That won’t be a problem,” Heck muttered, looking away.
Jock studied Heck with fierce eyes. “I’m starting to believe Grant ain’t the only one who wants our pretty little woman.”
Jock didn’t miss much. Knowing Jock, that was the only comment he heard when Heck mentioned the bounty on her “pretty little” head.
“Carla is our mate,” Frank said, giving Jock a solid wallop between the shoulder blades. “And Heck here has already expressed that he and Carla are just friends. If you can’t trust your friends with your woman, who can you trust?”
Chapter Two
Grant pushed Daisy’s head to his lap. “That’s it, soiled dove. Yep, Siree! Right about there. Hmm…yeah girlie. That’s what I like.”
Grant sure was enjoying his second full day as marshal. He grabbed hold of his whiskey glass and jiggled the ice so it would soak up the liquor before he took another swallow. Eyeing the talented gal between his legs, his thoughts inspired an order. “You suck up every drop now, darlin’. Ya hear?”
“Yes, Marshal,” she muttered, looping her tongue around his cockhead and watching him with pretty blue eyes. “It’s so very important for me to please ya.”
“It sure is.” He took a hearty drink. “Everybody wants to make the marshal plumb happy. I’ll put ya through the mill and teach ya a thing or two.” He shoved his hips forward and grabbed hold of her head, guiding her up and down on his cock. “Get a wiggle on it, honey. I ain’t got all day to sit here and let ya have your way with me.”
Daisy bobbed her head up and down, sucking him harder, pulling him tighter against the roof of her mouth. “Hmm. Hmm.”
The vibrations sent real special sensations up and down his shaft. Another few seconds and he’d be good to go. He rose to his feet and slammed inside her mouth, certain if he didn’t hurry up and finish, he’d be full as a tick. Liquor had a way of spoiling a man’s performance.
“Not this man,” Grant muttered, daring to think of such negativity.
Daisy glanced up at him. Her lips were spread as wide as they could go and she fluttered her eyelashes as she used her tongue to caress the underside of his penis.