A sound caught his attention, and he noticed a woman walking toward the livery. Recognizing Lily's curly hair, Nate followed.
She entered the livery, and minutes later the door opened again. She led out a horse, mounted deftly and rode away from town.
Was there trouble? Nate decided to follow to see where she was headed, so he quickly saddled his roan. She was only a few minutes out, and the moon was bright enough to catch up and keep her in sight without getting so close that she would hear him.
What was she up to? What reason did she have to ride out so late at night? Either something was wrong or she was up to no good, and damned if he wasn't unnaturally curious as to which.
He followed a trail along a valley that led to a stream bubbling in the otherwise-silent night. Ahead Lily dismounted and tied her horse to a bush, then disappeared along the bank.
Belatedly, Nate wondered if she was meeting a man. Why would she find the need to hide the encounter unless the man was married and didn't want to be seen with her?
He slid from his mount and held his hand over the roan's nostrils, so it wouldn't smell the other horse right off and whinny. Silently, he hobbled the animal and crept forward.
The horse she'd ridden shook its head at his approach, and he quieted it with a whisper and by rubbing its neck.
Nate moved forward, stealthily making his way around trees and bushes. He came upon a flat rock where the green dress she'd been wearing lay in a heap. Without thinking, he reached out and touched the slick cool fabric.
At the contact a buzz started in his head. Immediately he glanced around for a man's clothing. She had come to meet someone. Someone special, if the rooms in her place weren't good enough. Curiosity about the identity of the man overcame his better judgment. He assured himself he needed to know what was going on in his town.
He peered in the direction of the gurgling water and took several silent steps.
An unmistakable click warned him he'd made a grave mistake. The sound of a drawn hammer. The hairs on his neck stood up. Because of his curiosity, he'd been sloppy. Someone had a revolver aimed at his back.
“Stop right there.” Lily's voice.
Damn! How had he gotten so careless?
“Hands up, mister.”
Slowly, Nate raised both hands in the air. She wouldn't shoot him. Would she? Had he interrupted something he wasn't supposed to see? Had he frightened her?
“Toss your gun down real slow.”
He was faster, but he couldn't risk startling her. Still, he couldn't let her take his gun. Slowly he lowered his right hand toward the holster on his hip. At the last second he spun, lunged toward her and locked his fist around the .45 she held.
She emitted a startled cry, but clung to her Colt in a death grip. The struggle soon had his arms wrapped around her as he fought to keep her from shooting. He was larger and stronger, and in moments he overpowered her, taking the gun away and subduing her struggles.
The next thing his brain registered was that her dress was over there on that rock, and he was holding her near-naked body against him. She was soft and warm and disturbingly feminine. The crush of her breasts against his chest ignited a disturbing reaction, one that angered him at his weakness. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Sheriff?” The question came out as a breathless discovery. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Keepin' you from shootin' me in the back, I reckon.” He released her and took a step back.
She stood in the illumination of the moon, wearing a corset, stockings held up by black garters, and the ever-present pearls around her neck.
The sight of her scantily-clad form, even in the darkness, sent messages of sensual alert to the rest of his body.
“Did you follow me?” she asked.
“Had to see what you were up to. Who you were meetin'.”
She placed her hands on her hips, seemingly undisturbed by the fact that she wasn't wearing her dress. “And what business is that of yours?”
“It's my business if you're in trouble--or if you're not safe.”
“And if I was meeting someone, I'd be in trouble? Or unsafe? Who did you imagine my partner to be?”
“I had no idea.”
“Of course you didn't.” She edged further away from him. “Because there isn't anyone. It's a hot night, and on nights like this I come for a swim.” She reached for her garters. “Turn away.”
When he realized she meant to remove her stockings, he jerked into motion and faced the opposite direction. “Alone?” he asked.
“Yes, alone. Not that it's any concern of yours. I can take care of myself.”
The image of her stripping away the rest of her clothing added twenty degrees to the already-simmering night. “Like you did just then? I had you overpowered.”
“I could have shot you in the back first.”
That fact still rankled him, and so did the fact that she was rubbing it in. “But you didn't.”
“Aren't you grateful?”
He ignored that question. “So you came to swim?”
“Yes. And if you've seen enough, I intend to do just that.”
The bushes rustled.
Nate turned to catch only the glimmer of her hair and a pale shoulder as she disappeared around an outcropping of bushes on her way to the stream. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of water splashing. His imagination went wild.
Lily Divine naked in the moonlight.
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