Read Online The Outlaw Bride by Sandra Chastain - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sandra Chastain
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a change that was not of her own making. She looked up. A falling star streaked across the inky sky.
Perspiration rolled down her face and between herbreasts. The heat grew, not only from the stillness of the night, but from inside her own body. Desperately, she reached down, cupping the cool water in her hands and splashing it on her face and neck. Not enough.
She took a few steps out into the river and sank down to her knees, welcoming the sharp edges of the rocks on which she rested. Pain wasn’t new to Josie. Pain had driven her life and reminded her that no matter how far she’d come, beneath the Miller name and the fine clothes she wore, she was still nobody. She’d tried her best to become a lady, to five an orderly life in appreciation to Dan and Annie. But the truth was, underneath, she was still Joe, the street urchin.
Her gown soaked up the river water and clung to her body. As it cooled down the heat, she felt her muscles begin to relax, her body breathe. Water tagged the rocks and seemed to laugh and move by. Life should be like that; a temporary meeting with an obstacle before sliding away and going on. She loosened her hair from its braid and leaned back, submerging her face in the water.
Josie shivered. This tingly feeling was with her constantly now and had been ever since Sims Callahan had come into her life. She wished she’d never met him. She wished he weren’t an outlaw. She wished …
Callahan tossed, hot and sweaty. His skin stuck to the sheet. But the heat increased the smell of Josie. The room, even the linen beneath him, was filled with her sweet scent. He closed his eyes and imagined her in bed beside him, her bare skin against his, her breasts, full and pink, waiting to be sucked. The thought of Josie, just beyond the walls of his room, was torture.
If only he could get up and walk around, he’d put Josie out of his mind. He forced himself to his feet, andby taking slow, careful steps, he reached the covered courtyard. The scent of flowers that filled the night air was so overpowering that he could hardly breathe. A horse nickered softly, and from the mountains in the distance came the call of a coyote.
He waited until he’d marshaled enough strength to move again and made his way to the wall beneath the courtyard roof.
The moon was as bright as a million lamps, and Callahan felt exposed, even though he was hidden in the shadows.
What in hell had possessed him to kiss her again, and why was he worrying about it now? He ought to be worrying about Ben. But it was Josie who had him wearing a ruffled nightgown. Josie had officially turned his innards into clabber.
She might have been a wild street urchin who’d clawed her way to the top, but now Josie Miller was a member of the most prominent family in Laramie. Long ago he’d given up the right to care about a woman, especially one who’d achieved so much. There was nothing left inside him but the charred remains of a man who had lost too much, too fast. That life for Sims Callahan died when the plantation back in South Carolina had burned.
Callahan slid along the wall to the bench beneath Josie’s window and sank down. He unbuttoned the front of his nightshirt. The hot night air dried the perspiration beading his chest. He’d been practicing moving about at night when everyone was quiet, but this was the first time he’d left the house on his own two feet. He wasn’t positive, but he thought he’d been here for about a week. Now for a few moments out here tonight, he felt free.
But he couldn’t fool himself. He wasn’t free. He was tightly bound to this house and this woman by more thanjust wounds. Wanting her had made Callahan admit to a side of himself that he hadn’t acknowledged in a long time. A deep longing, a need to belong, to have someone to touch, someone to connect with physically.
Frustration closed over Callahan, a frustration all the worse because he couldn’t see a quick way out of the aftermath of
Perspiration rolled down her face and between herbreasts. The heat grew, not only from the stillness of the night, but from inside her own body. Desperately, she reached down, cupping the cool water in her hands and splashing it on her face and neck. Not enough.
She took a few steps out into the river and sank down to her knees, welcoming the sharp edges of the rocks on which she rested. Pain wasn’t new to Josie. Pain had driven her life and reminded her that no matter how far she’d come, beneath the Miller name and the fine clothes she wore, she was still nobody. She’d tried her best to become a lady, to five an orderly life in appreciation to Dan and Annie. But the truth was, underneath, she was still Joe, the street urchin.
Her gown soaked up the river water and clung to her body. As it cooled down the heat, she felt her muscles begin to relax, her body breathe. Water tagged the rocks and seemed to laugh and move by. Life should be like that; a temporary meeting with an obstacle before sliding away and going on. She loosened her hair from its braid and leaned back, submerging her face in the water.
Josie shivered. This tingly feeling was with her constantly now and had been ever since Sims Callahan had come into her life. She wished she’d never met him. She wished he weren’t an outlaw. She wished …
Callahan tossed, hot and sweaty. His skin stuck to the sheet. But the heat increased the smell of Josie. The room, even the linen beneath him, was filled with her sweet scent. He closed his eyes and imagined her in bed beside him, her bare skin against his, her breasts, full and pink, waiting to be sucked. The thought of Josie, just beyond the walls of his room, was torture.
If only he could get up and walk around, he’d put Josie out of his mind. He forced himself to his feet, andby taking slow, careful steps, he reached the covered courtyard. The scent of flowers that filled the night air was so overpowering that he could hardly breathe. A horse nickered softly, and from the mountains in the distance came the call of a coyote.
He waited until he’d marshaled enough strength to move again and made his way to the wall beneath the courtyard roof.
The moon was as bright as a million lamps, and Callahan felt exposed, even though he was hidden in the shadows.
What in hell had possessed him to kiss her again, and why was he worrying about it now? He ought to be worrying about Ben. But it was Josie who had him wearing a ruffled nightgown. Josie had officially turned his innards into clabber.
She might have been a wild street urchin who’d clawed her way to the top, but now Josie Miller was a member of the most prominent family in Laramie. Long ago he’d given up the right to care about a woman, especially one who’d achieved so much. There was nothing left inside him but the charred remains of a man who had lost too much, too fast. That life for Sims Callahan died when the plantation back in South Carolina had burned.
Callahan slid along the wall to the bench beneath Josie’s window and sank down. He unbuttoned the front of his nightshirt. The hot night air dried the perspiration beading his chest. He’d been practicing moving about at night when everyone was quiet, but this was the first time he’d left the house on his own two feet. He wasn’t positive, but he thought he’d been here for about a week. Now for a few moments out here tonight, he felt free.
But he couldn’t fool himself. He wasn’t free. He was tightly bound to this house and this woman by more thanjust wounds. Wanting her had made Callahan admit to a side of himself that he hadn’t acknowledged in a long time. A deep longing, a need to belong, to have someone to touch, someone to connect with physically.
Frustration closed over Callahan, a frustration all the worse because he couldn’t see a quick way out of the aftermath of
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