“Tu eres mi vida,” he groaned, “mi querida esposa.”
She’d learned the meaning of the words: You are my life, my darling wife. She couldn’t help crying out with the ecstasy of the way he moved inside her, and she loved him even more for being concerned he might have hurt her when he made love to her in a different position. It wouldn’t have mattered. He had a way of making her want to please him in every way possible, and she knew he wanted to make sure she was equally satisfied. She felt lost under his big frame.
“Jake, I love you so,” she said softly. “If anyone takes you from me again, I’ll die.”
He pushed hard, his life spilling into her once more. He kissed her over and over. “I’ll not let it happen,” he groaned.
They kissed hungrily, feeling as though they couldn’t get enough of each other. Finally, he settled beside her, pulling the blankets over them and wrapping a leg over her, keeping her close. “It’s been one long day,” he said.
“And you’re hurting, aren’t you?” Randy asked.
“I hate to admit it, but wrestling down calves and then wrestling down my wife have done me in.”
“I didn’t exactly fight you like those calves do.”
He grinned. “Not exactly.” Jake kissed her hair. “Did I tell you what a beautiful bottom you have?”
“In so many words. Just don’t expect that too often, Jake Harkner.”
“We’ll see. All I have to do is touch you in the right places.”
“Is that so?” Randy turned and kissed him. “Well, you’re right.” She kissed him again. “All I really need is that handsome smile.” Another kiss. “I love you.”
He caressed her hair. “In another month we’ll go to Denver—you and me, Katie and Lloyd, Brian and Evie. The girls can stay here with Teresa, and the boys can stay in the bunkhouse. They get a kick out of that.”
“Oh, Jake, heaven only knows what they see and hear around those men!”
He snickered. “Being around me isn’t a whole lot better. They’re itching to be men themselves. Spending time with Pepper and that bunch will certainly teach them a few things, and Little Jake will give those men a run for their money.”
Randy smiled. “I can’t believe the way he walked up and threatened Hal Kraemer! That child has not one ounce of fear in him. He is so much like you it’s comical. Little Jake couldn’t be a more fitting name.”
“He’s going to be something to deal with when he’s grown, that’s for sure.”
“We’ve produced quite a family in spite of all the things that tried to stop us.”
“Hey, it’s you and me against the world, woman, and that’s okay. We can handle it.”
Randy studied his eyes. “When you told me the other day that you talked to the boys about your past, I was so glad you were able to do that. For so many years you wouldn’t talk about it at all. Big and strong and able as you are on the outside, you’ve grown so much stronger on the inside.”
He kissed her eyes. “You keep me strong.”
Their lips met again, their passion no different than it was nearly thirty years ago when he took her for the first time…when he was a lost soul…when she showed him everything he didn’t know about love. The only thing that could change that and bring back Jake the outlaw was if his ugly past found a way to revisit him.
Twelve
Early July
Gretta winced with pain when her customer bit at her breast. “I don’t go for that, mister, so if you’re going to try to hurt me, you can just get off this bed.”
The man grinned. In spite of a Z-shaped scar on his chin, Gretta found him nice-looking, but his cruel smiles made him ugly.
“Hey, I’m a payin’ customer, lady.”
“You paid for sex, not for hurting a woman, so get off!” Gretta shoved at him, but he grabbed her wrists and pushed them over her head.
“I’ll get off when I’m done, lady!” He rammed himself hard, deliberately squeezing her wrists until it hurt. Finally, he released himself, then bent down to bite her breast again, this time hard enough to leave teeth marks. He finally let go of her, and Gretta quickly got off the bed and slapped him hard across the side of the face.
The man stood up and shoved her against a wall, half choking her as he held her there. “You’re awful damn choosy for a whore!” he growled.
“Even whores don’t like it rough,” she said in a near whisper, hardly able to find her voice.
“Some do!”
He let go of her, and Gretta bent over, gasping for breath. “None…that I know,” she answered. She reached for her robe, quickly pulling it on and walking over to her dressing table.