Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Okay, so it wasn’t his smartest comment. “You’re right. Sorry, I’m…” he trailed off. What was there to say? It was obvious Robert had just arrived and yet he couldn’t help feel possessive over…he sighed. Over what? A feminine voice I obviously heard in my head? Yes that’ll boost confidence the men have in me. I’m hearing voices.
He cleared his throat and out of habit rubbed the thigh of his injured leg. “Bunkhouse is full, you’ll have to share a bunk.”
Now the following action was a definite tensing. He guessed he understood. Overall the riders didn’t have color issues but there were a few who did.
“Fine.” Robert ducked under the rail, hefted the saddle with ease, and slid it onto an empty spot amongst the other tack. Weapon in one hand and saddlebags with bedroll in the other, he strode from the barn.
Cy double-checked on the large dun then brought the next horse up so he didn’t have to chase him down when the time came. Once that was finished, he got to his daily duties of being a station manager at one of the more than one hundred stations along the two thousand mile trail.
Things didn’t differentiate much as the days went on. The Army didn’t arrive however, neither did they have more attacks. Everyone worked hard right along with everyone else.
Three weeks later, a severe storm overran them. The station was empty except for him and Robert since he’d just sent off the last rider two hours ago. Another few should be coming in within a few more hours, but he figured the storm would slow them a bit. He had a big pot of soup heating and some biscuits cooking in the oven. Cy got to his feet and went to the door. May as well call Robert to eat with him.
The young man had changed, not that he and Robert had ever been extremely close but since the incident with Bill, he’d become even more distant. Respectful and hardworking as always but he kept to himself. Never participated in card games with the guys. Slept and worked.
He pushed out the door and took a deep breath. The rainy onslaught filled the air with a fresh clean scent. It washed away the dry, hot air and replaced it with rebirth. He couldn’t hear the horses over the pounding rain. Nor could he see the bunkhouse.
Immediately soaked stepping onto the ground, he hurried to his destination. He saw one flickering light the closer he got and he pushed through the door shaking the excess water off his head. Running a hand down his face, he peered around. Movement in the back corner caught his eye so he headed there. Turning the corner of the final bunk he froze as if he’d run smack into a wall. His jaw dropped open and lust hit him again, a hundred times the intensity of his reaction to the feminine voice in the barn.
Robert was a girl. No, correction, not a girl. A woman. No man had a figure like that. Even with the bindings around her torso—which explained how she passed as Robert—he now wondered how he’d missed it. Although it explained some of the differences he’d noticed.
“Where’s Robert and who the hell are you?”
Anger began to leech into him as he realized how endangered she’d been by riding the route. She jumped and spun around, eyes wide. He watched her gaze flick between him and the gun hanging near. Tension exploded throughout the room. They lunged for the weapon at the same time.
He had no doubt, she got to it first, he was going to have a bullet lodged in him somewhere.
Her fingers grasped the handle as his heavier weight bore her to the thin mattress. Preservation instincts honed dagger sharp in the Army took over and he rolled them from the narrow bed to the floor. The gun scattered across the wooden planks.
She didn’t cease her struggles, in fact, they increased. Her hands whirled like demons, landing several painful blows on him. Stars exploded behind his eyes when her knee landed a direct hit between his legs.
“Christ, would you just hold still!”
Capturing her wrists in his hands, he placed them above her head. He stared down at her. It was a punch to the gut. He had no clue how he’d mistaken her for a man. She had Robert’s features but here, now, this close there was no doubt she was all woman.
She bucked against him to no avail. All it did was reaffirm it was a woman beneath him. Because he’d walked in on her binding her breasts, the wrap was loose and he felt them. Full, rounded, pert and things he wanted in his hands. In his mouth.
Fuck! Now he was getting hard. Well, harder.
“Hold still.” He barked the order while trying to convince his body he wasn’t attracted to her. It wasn’t easy. She had large brown eyes framed by thick lashes, full lips he wanted to kiss, and a haughty expression, which made him, want to morph into one of pure pleasure. All it would take would be to lower his head and…