Lipstick and Lead Series: The Complete Box Set With a Bonus Book Read online

  “We wouldn’t know what to do with a criminal if we caught him,” Annabelle exclaimed, pushing her chest out.

  Good grief!

  He laughed. “Yeah, that was kind of silly of me.”

  In that second, Meg’s mind went a thousand different directions, but she refused to acknowledge the idea.

  “We miss our papa, and when you talk about your life, it reminds us of him.” Ruby turned her lips into a smirk as she looked at her sisters.

  Meg knew that look, but she refused to recognize that Ruby was thinking in the same direction as Meg. She wasn’t ready to face that knowledge just yet. She needed more time.

  “Let me get you some pie,” Annabelle said.

  “Oh, I’ll do it. You sit down, Annabelle.” Ruby started to rise from the table.

  If those two didn’t fall to the ground and have a catfight over this man, it would be a miracle. “Why don’t you both remain seated, and I’ll bring the pie to the table.” Meg stood, smiled at the women and Deke, and went to the kitchen.

  Maybe they weren’t looking at all their options. Maybe the three of them becoming bounty hunters was a way to keep from losing the farm. They had the necessary money to pay the loan, but what about next year?

  Could they hunt men and turn them in to the law?

  Dutifully, Ruby went to her job every day, though she secretly longed to do anything besides this boring scullery maid work. Even school had been more entertaining than scrubbing toilets and floors. What she really wanted was for her and Deke to run away, escape, and for the two of them to travel the world together. As she scrubbed the outhouse, she dreamed of how his body would feel laying naked against her own. Just the idea had her heart racing and her breathing quickening. God, she couldn’t wait until they were man and wife.

  Ruby finished cleaning the Mullen’s outhouse and was now on her way back to the main house to do the dusting. So far today, she’d swept the floors, mopped the kitchen, and once she completed the dusting, she would find the head housekeeper and ask what else needed to be cleaned.

  The work was not hard, just tiresome. Dealing with a cranky old housekeeper who came behind her and criticized everything she did was difficult. Okay, so maybe sometimes her work wasn’t top notch, but if the housekeeper always found fault anyway, why try for perfection?

  Opening the door, Ruby stepped into the hallway right into Clay Mullens, and his arms circled around her.

  “Hello, beautiful.” He pulled her up tight against him.

  “Excuse me, sir, but this isn’t appropriate.” Fear strangled her like a gut line at a hanging, as he crushed her against his chest. Her lungs constricted making her breathing tight. She struggled against him.

  “A girl who charges for kisses isn’t exactly a proper young woman, is she?” he taunted, his voice deep and low against her ear. “I promise you, you’ll enjoy this way more than you did those schoolboys in the play yard.”

  Dear God, how had he learned of her silly antic to raise money?

  “That was a mistake,” Ruby said, her voice suddenly shaky. She tried to put her arms between them, but he had them trapped down at her sides.

  “Instead of paying you your housekeeping salary, what if I pay you to fuck me.” He backed her up against the wall, pressing his erection between her legs.

  She pushed him, but he was stronger than her, and he didn’t budge. “Get off me! I’m not a calico queen you can use for your pleasure.”

  He reached up and grabbed her breast.

  Revulsion swept through her, leaving her nauseous. “Stop! I told you no. I’m going to scream. Get off me.”

  “Relax, it will be fun. I’ll make you feel good,” he promised.

  She opened her mouth to scream, and he covered her lips with his palm, silencing her. She yelled as loud as she could, and he slapped her. Stars appeared before her eyes and her cheek burned. She feared she would faint.

  “I like a fighter,” he whispered in her ear. “Do it again, so I can hit you again.”

  His hand over her mouth held her captive, fear clogged her throat like a man drowning in the river. She knew she was running out of time. Somehow she needed to outsmart him.

  His lips kissed her neck, working their way down to her breasts. She tried again to push him away, but he was too strong, pinning her against the wall. The smell of him had nausea rising up in her throat. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t taste, but the sickening sour smell of him had her gagging. He sucked on her breasts through her clothing, gripping her hands in one of his large ones. He moved his body down hers and reached for her skirt.

  She had to reach her gun before he discovered the holster beneath her skirt. Now she understood why her father had given them all shooting lessons and insisted they wear a gun at all times. Often she’d been tempted to leave the clumsy thing at home, but today she realized why he’d instructed them on how to take care of themselves.

  The voice of the housekeeper and his mother coming toward them had him quickly pulling her into a closet and shutting the door. He leaned against the wall with her body pulled up against his own. In the darkness, he put his hand back over her mouth. “Shhh. Quiet. They’ll soon leave, and then it will be just you and me, g’hal.”

  With one of his hands over her mouth and another on her wrists, she nodded her head, trying to make him think she was agreeing with him. He let go of her hand, and she tried to slip it beneath her skirt, but he grabbed her wrist again. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and a sliver of light that came from a window above their heads.

  “They’re gone,” he whispered. “Now for the fun.”

  No, no, no, they couldn’t leave. They couldn’t abandon her with him. She could feel her holster beneath her skirt, but she couldn’t put her hand on the gun.

  He placed her hand on his pants, and she could feel his rigid, hard member and fought against the urge to vomit. “Turn around and lift your skirt.”

  Ruby happily complied, reaching beneath her skirt and pulling her blue-lightnin’ persuader out of its holster. Before he could undo his trousers, she whirled around to face him and cocked the trigger.

  The sound had him backing away from her as he stared down at the pistol.

  “Touch me again, and I’ll put enough holes in you, they won’t need to bury you.” Ruby promised as she walked away from the wall, trying to reach the door.

  He laughed. “Do I need to remind you that you need your job? Your father’s dead. There’s no one to defend you. You’re a housekeeping whore.”

  When Clay walked toward her, she pointed the gun at him. “Stop!”

  Revulsion swept through her, and she fought the urge to empty the chamber of the gun in his head. His family was wealthy, and the thought of swinging from a noose gave her itchy trigger finger pause. She had no one but her sisters. He had a wealthy family who could buy the law. Killing him was not an option.

  “Put the gun away, you probably don’t even know how to fire the thing.” He laughed at her in the darkened closet.

  Ruby’s hand shook as she tried to rein in her anger, the need to kill him strong within her. Why tempt an armed woman with such a stupid comment? She raised the gun, took a deep breath, and steadied her arm. He needed to learn a lesson.

  “Oh, yes, I do,” she promised and pulled the trigger. The explosion in the closet almost deafened her as wood flew from the wall behind him. He screamed like she’d shot him, his face white, his eyes wide with fear, his hands shaking.

  “You stupid bitch. The bullet went right by my ear.”

  “Consider yourself lucky. If I’d aimed for your head, you’d be dead right now.”

  His eyes were almost black as he stared at her, frightened. She didn’t care. He looked at her like a man ready to run. He’d almost raped her, and she needed to inflict some of that same fear on him.

  “I don’t work for your family any longer. I don’t need any job where I’m raped. Come toward me again, and the next bullet goes into your tallywhacke
r,” she promised, more determined than she’d ever been in her fifteen years. No man was going to take what was hers to give and that included this lily livered skunk.

  She walked backwards toward the door, the gun still in her hand. When she reached the doorknob, she twisted it and stepped right into the head housekeeper.

  The woman stood there with her mouth open, staring at her. “You can’t shoot a gun in the house. You’re fired, Ruby.”

  “No, I quit.” Ruby turned and walked out the back door of the house.

  Ruby went to the livery stable and took the buggy and one of their horses, leaving the other horse behind for Annabelle. Right now, Ruby only desired to get home.

  Shaking all over, she kept trying to wretch, but nothing came up. Tears flowed unheeded down her face. Her stomach roiled with fear, and she kept glancing back to make sure no one had followed her. She felt dirty. Soiled from his touch. He’d thought she would just willingly lie down on the floor and have sex with him. He thought wrong.

  Clicking to the horse, she drove the buggy hard in her haste to get home where she would feel protected. Where she was safe.

  If this was what lovemaking was all about, then she’d do without. She longed for a man to think she was beautiful and who spent time with her, kissing and getting to know her. And when the time was right, they would make love. Then afterwards she dreamed of him holding her in his arms and telling her how much he loved her.

  The memory of Clay pinning her against his body, telling her of his plans to take her on the floor like she was a common whore, sent a shudder through her like the sound of a rattlesnake close by. Boys were so outrageous sometimes. They thought they were doing something so wicked when they’d kissed her out in the schoolyard, but she’d felt nothing. None of those boys meant anything to her. None of them. They were all silly boys who had no idea about the love of a good man and a woman. That’s what she longed for, what she dreamed of.

  A man like Deke.

  She pulled the wagon into the yard of the house and saw Deke saddling his horse. He was a good man. A man worthy of her love.

  “Deke, you haven’t left yet,” she called, pulling to a stop beside him. She tied the reins, and then Deke helped her out of the buggy.

  The feel of his hands on her waist was warmer than the Texas sunshine and soothed her wounded pride. She longed for him to hold her and tell her everything would be okay.

  “You’ve been crying,” Deke said, gazing into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  She bit her lip to stop the trembling and then gasped. “I got fired.”

  “What happened?” he asked, his hands moving from her waist to her shoulder as he wrapped her into a hug.

  Deke smelled of soap and something minty like he’d just bathed. The smell reminded her of the comfort of her father’s bear hug. Deke’s arms were strong and secure around her shoulders, and she leaned into him, needing his embrace. This man could be her husband, the one that understood her and made her feel special if she could convince him of how good they would be together. That she could make his life even better. That she would be a good wife. He would be hers.

  “My sisters are going to be so mad at me. They’re going to blame me, and it’s not my fault.” She sobbed into his shirt. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Really, I didn’t.”

  “I’m sure they’ll understand.”

  “No, they’re going to think that I…I instigated this, and I didn’t. I promise you, I did nothing. Nothing.”

  Deke patted her shoulder as her tears increased, and she pressed her shivering body against him. The feel of Deke’s muscled arms tightly wound around her was her undoing.

  “He said…he said…I worked for his family, and to continue working for them, I’d have to have sex with him.”

  “Bastard,” Deke swore.

  “He was trying to force me,” she wept.

  “I’ll kill him,” Deke said, and her heart swelled, like a creek after a storm. Here was a man who was good and honest who would fight for her honor and protect her. Here was a man worthy of her love.

  “He didn’t…” Deke asked gently, wiping her tears from her face. His fingers were rough against her skin, but she didn’t care.

  “No, I pulled my gun on him. He backed off then, but the housekeeper was waiting for me when I came out of the closet, and she fired me.”

  Deke pulled her tight against him. “I’m sorry this happened to you. Men kind of lose their minds when a pretty girl like you is around them.”

  She looked up into his eyes. “Do you think I’m pretty?”

  He swallowed. “Yes, I do.”

  The smell of leather and man swept over her. Here was a man who was kind and decent and all she’d dreamed of in a husband. Deke was a man who would love her and protect her and show her the meaning of life.

  Living here, stuck on this farm with mere women, she longed to experience the life of adventure she dreamed of. One where she could kick the prairie dust off her feet and wear a party dress.

  When her papa was alive, he’d been busy, though when he’d paid her attention, he called her his Ruby love. But since his death, there was no man in her life. No man to call her Ruby love. Only sisters who were going to be so angry with her when they learned she’d lost her job.

  A shudder rippled through her, and she began to quake at the thought of what could have happened with Clay.

  “Are you cold,” Deke asked.

  “No, just scared,” she said. She bit her lip. “Please, Deke, wash away the memories of that awful man. Show me how a good man would treat a woman. Kiss me, make this fear go away.”

  He stared at her, his emerald eyes gazing at her, flickering with what looked like uncertainty. He opened his mouth, and she licked her lips.

  “Oh, blazes,” he said, as his mouth lowered to hers, and he covered her lips with his own. He tasted of apple, and a minty spice, and his lips plundered her. Ravaging her mouth, claiming her like she belonged to him. This was no schoolboy’s blundering attempt, but a man who knew how to kiss her silly.

  Only instead of satisfying her curiosity, she craved more. She needed more as she rubbed her fingers down the rock hard muscles in his back. A moan built in her throat as his tongue opened her mouth, and he pushed his way inside, causing her to gasp. She’d never experienced anything like this before, and the strength to resist seemed to leave her body. Her legs began to wobble, and his hands tilted her back, his arms holding her, supporting her as her breathing quickened, and she felt faint.

  An ache began to build in the center of her body, and his hand slid across her breast. She didn’t want him to ever cease. She needed him to touch her. To make her into a woman. A woman who knew how to please a man.

  His lips left hers. “Stop.”

  Slowly, she opened her eyes to gaze up at him. Her body burned like a fire had been started, and she hungered to be consumed in its flames.

  “No, don’t quit. What you’re doing is getting rid of the bad memories and feels so good,” she gasped, still in his arms staring into his eyes. “You make me feel beautiful.”

  Not wanting this to end, she reached up, her fingers touching her lips and her body craving something she didn’t understand. There was more, and she needed to experience it all. She needed Deke like she needed her next breath.

  He raised her up until she was standing and then pushed her away from him, his strong arms out straight, putting distance between them. His breathing was quick and shallow, and his eyes were wild with an emotion she’d never seen before.

  “No, I can’t. That’s as far as it goes. You’re a child. You’re innocent. And your papa would not have approved.”

  A child? He thought of her as a child? Did he not see the woman inside of her that was bursting for someone to release? Couldn’t he see she was a woman fully grown?

  “My papa is dead. We’re alone, and I want to know what it feels like to be a woman. I want you to be the man who makes me into a woman.” Ruby stepped toward
him, needing him to take her into his arms once again.

  “Oh, no, not going to happen with this man. I would be disrespecting your papa. I’m not having sex with a child.”

  “Stop calling me a child,” she declared, her overwrought feelings rushing at her.

  “That’s what you are.”

  Like a splash of cold water had been thrown on her, shivers racked her body. She no longer had this intense urge for him to make her into a woman.

  Tingles of rage crawled up her spine, and she went hot all over. First, she’d been almost raped, and now, the one man she desired was refusing her. She wanted to smash something, she wanted to hit him, she wanted to do something to make him hurt like she was hurting.

  “Damn it, Deke Culver. I’m asking you to take me, and you’re being all respectful. That’s not what I want,” she fairly screamed at him.

  “It’s not happening.” He walked over to his horse where he finished tightening the cinch on his saddle. “Don’t make me mad that I kissed you.”

  Tears pricked her eyelids as pain gripped her insides and twisted them into a knot. Her humiliation for the day was complete. Nothing worse could happen.

  “Get off our land. Get out of here,” she yelled, her rage full blown now that he was angry he’d kissed her. She reached beneath her skirt, giving him a flash of pantaloons and pulled her gun from its hidden holster.

  With a toss of her blonde hair, she aimed the pistol at his groin. “Get the hell out of here.”

  He laughed at her. “Now you’re proving to me you’re still a child. You’re not ready to be a woman.”

  She raised the gun and fired it over his head. “Get. Out. Of. Here. Now.”

  He climbed on his horse and then blew her a kiss. “See you round, Ruby. Save me a kiss when you’re a grown woman.”

  “Aargh.” She started to raise the gun again, but then remembered the words of her papa. Don’t aim a gun at a man unless you intend to kill him. With a trembling hand, she lowered the weapon for the second time that day.

  “You’ll never get another one of my kisses,” she yelled after him, but he only waved goodbye at her. The sun burned the tears tracking down her cheeks.