"Sheriff?" I parroted, then pointed to Landon's gun. "Why do you need guns? What is it that you do?"
"We're US Marshals," Seth said absently, settling the gun belt properly on his hips. "We need to stop and see the sheriff or the nearest minister."
I stilled. Oh god. I always knew being arrested was a possibility, but I never imagined that happening while in just my shift. "US Marshals? Minister?"
What had I done? I'd slept with two lawmen who wanted to take me to the sheriff. Yes, they had to know what I'd done. Who I was.
Landon grinned. "We're marrying you, sweetheart."
I was a mixture of petrified and angry at the same time. So much so that I didn't process what Landon had said. "How dare you!" I said, spinning on my heel and grabbing the pins from the bedside table.
"Excuse me?" Seth asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "We are gentlemen, Maddie. We took liberties with you last night that should be reserved for those who are married."
I scoffed at that. Hurt. "Yet you want to take me to the sheriff."
Seth frowned. "Of course. We said we wanted to marry you. At dinner. All night long, we made that quite clear. That you were ours, that you belonged to us."
He pulled from his bag a pair of handcuffs.
My heart was practically beating out of my chest. In just my shift, I was sure they could see it. Sticking out my wrists, I said bitterly, "Fine. Take me in."
Both men stilled and I had to look up at them when they did nothing.
"What we did last night isn't punishable by the law, sweetheart. You're a widow and what we did was wholly consensual."
It was my turn to still. They didn't know I was a bank robber, that I was the Black Widow. They were just US Marshals, just two men who'd met me in the lobby of a hotel and decided they wanted me, had a wild night together and were going to marry me. It was just a coincidence that I'd hopped into bed with the men I was trying to avoid the most. And now, they wanted me permanently.
I laughed then, the quick burst of panic bubbled out. "You really want to marry me?"
Landon stepped up to me, tipped my chin up with his thumb. "Don't question our honor, sweetheart."
He was serious. Dead serious. There was none of that dark, playful tone from the night before. Now, with his gun on his hip, he was more US Marshal than lover.
"But … I just thought it was one night," I countered.
"You said you hadn't been with anyone since your husband, so you aren't the type of widow to take random men to her bed. What did we say or do to indicate we only wanted one night with you?"
My mouth fell open, my mind swirling about. I was overwhelmed. US Marshals. A naked night of unbridled passion. The impending bank robbery. Marriage. Oh god.
"It was nothing you said, but you chose me."
Seth came to stand directly beside Landon, their shoulders bumping. They remained silent, waiting for me to elaborate.
"I just didn't consider myself to be, well, marriageable." I heard the vulnerability in my voice.
Seth shrugged slightly. "We must not have done a good enough job last night."
Oh, that was not the case. I'd been well satisfied and they knew it. The smug bastards. "Our compatibility isn't in question, just your choice in a bride."
"We want you, Maddie," Landon said, his tone serious.
"We will have you. After last night, there's no going back." Seth held the handcuffs up by one finger. "Do we need to put these on you and take you in?"
My worst nightmare, being dragged to jail like a criminal. Which I was.
"No. No handcuffs."
He hooked the handcuffs onto the side of his gun belt opposite the holster.
"You seem upset about something," Seth said.
I laughed maniacally again. I should tell them everything, wipe my sins clean like a cloth over a school slate. But there was more than just my own neck at stake here. I wouldn't risk Tara and Amanda's freedom. "Why didn't you tell me you were US Marshals?"
"I didn't think it made a difference if we were lawmen or not while we were fucking," Seth replied. "Should I have pulled out the handcuffs and locked you to the headboard?"
My mouth fell open at that idea. Trapped naked and at their mercy.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Landon angled his head down and looked at my breasts. "Your nipples just got hard."
Stupid thin shift! They knew what they could do to me, just from a rasp of their voice, a caress. A kiss. A suggestion.
"We're the same men without the gun belts," Landon said, and I could tell from the tone of his voice he was trying to reassure me.
That might be the case, but I was still an outlaw. I was everything they fought against. The very basis of their job was to bring criminals like me to justice. They wanted me to marry them, then go off and rob a bank without them knowing? I was the duplicitous one. I couldn't back out now from my plan, not even for them.
"Don't worry, sweetheart," Landon said, stepping up to me to run a finger over my cheek. "Just because I'm a US Marshal doesn't mean you have to stop calling me God."
I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists. I knew he was joking with me, to lighten the suddenly tense mood. It worked, because now I wanted to punch him in the face. He was a cocky bastard and there was nothing I could do about it. I had called him God, and a couple other things when he'd had his head buried between my thighs, that beard of his soft against my thighs. It hadn't just been Seth that one time who'd made me come from his mouth. I hadn't been able to remain silent and I worried people would stare at me when we crossed the lobby to go to the damn sheriff. They'd both been that good. I never knew it could be like that between a man and woman. Orville hadn't done more than shove his cock into me, thrust for a minute, then spend.
Yes, God. That one utterance was what made him so damn smug now.
"And me, sweetheart," Seth said. "Don't forget me."
As if I ever could. After the first time they both fucked me, we'd slept, but I'd awoken to Landon's tongue and fingers on my pussy. Seth, as soon as I was crying out Landon's name, had propped my head up with a pillow and fed me his cock. Yes, my scream of pleasure had been stifled by his cock swelling even thicker in my mouth. That was another first.
My pussy was sore from the thorough use. My muscles ached in places I'd never known even had muscles. I felt the obvious whisker burn on the inside of my thighs, on the underside of my breasts, and the side of my neck. And my bottom! I couldn't see it, but I was sure it still held their bright pink handprints from when they'd spanked me. Yes, they'd even spanked me, but just in play. I'd been astride Seth's lap, his cock filling me deep when he brought his palm down onto my bottom, spurring me to move faster.
I got dressed as quickly as I could, although Seth snagged my drawers from my fingers when I was about to put them on. Patiently, they watched me hook my corset, slip on my dress, even slide on my stockings and boots and put up my hair. It was as if they were enthralled by the act of a woman dressing.
"Don't you want to marry us?" Landon asked.
I had my hands up, adjusting my hat. "I don't know you. I … I didn't even know your profession until just now."
"You know us, sweetheart. You know what counts. That we're compatible-"
That was an understatement.
"-and that we are honorable men. We wanted you from the first time we saw you at the front desk."
"We will always want you," Seth added.
Did I want them? Yes. Did I want to marry them? God, perhaps. It was all too much. Before I knew they were US Marshals, the idea of being with them, waking up to them, letting them love me, was powerful. Having a man, no, men, be there for me was something I hadn't realized I'd been missing.
I finished with my hat, smoothed out my dress. Being lawmen couldn't change my decision. They didn't know I was an outlaw. They wanted me. The real me. But when they found out I was a criminal, would they turn me out? Or worse, turn me in? They'd said they were honorable, but how far did that go?
I had one more bank robbery to retrieve the remainder of the funds that Mr. Rollins owed me, Tara and Amanda. Our plan was to rob the bank at eleven. By noon, hopefully, I would be a retired criminal. I could live my life as I wanted and keep the revenge a secret.
I glanced at the men, who were eyeing me with a seriousness I hadn't seen before. They were waiting. "Your job … "
I didn't say more, let them interpret the rest.
"This morning's meeting is to collect information about our final criminal. Once we bring him to justice, we'll retire. There was just no reason for us to do so, before now. We have money, means to support you." Landon dipped his head. "And any children we might have. A ranch to live on."