STORY EXCERPT

Grabbing her bag, Nyssa walked back into the station and asked the small wiry man behind the counter if a message had been left for her. He shook his head no. Feeling more than a little nervous, Nyssa made her way back outside.

Maybe she should just get back on the stagecoach before it left. She must be crazy to come hundreds of miles to see a man she had never even met. He could be a weird old coot for all she knew.

“He probably can’t even take the time to come and get me. He’s probably sending some shmuck to get me. This is crazy,” Nyssa mumbled to herself.

 Nyssa was so drawn into her own thoughts that she jumped when a buckboard wagon came to a stop directly in front of her. The driver pushed his cowboy hat back on his head as he turned to look at her.

She was preparing to turn down some buckaroo who thought she might be easy-pickings when the deep voice of the man who sat there asked her, “Ms. Dupre? Mr. Jones sent me to pick you up and take you to Mr. Dupre’s residence.”

Nyssa stood up and grabbed her bag, walking to the wagon. She eyed the large guy in the seat. Not bad. She certainly wouldn’t kick him out of her bed for eating crackers. He was very easy on the eyes and big as a horse.

He had shoulder-length black hair, smoky gray eyes, darkly tanned skin, and shoulders as wide as the Mississippi. Oh yeah, he was a looker all right. He had thick muscular arms, a chest so broad and rippled that she could see each muscle move under his tight shirt. His faded Kentucky jeans were so tight she wondered if they were cutting off the circulation to his brain.

He was staring at her like he had just won the world’s biggest poker game. She wanted to look her fill, but she was uncomfortable with him looking at her the same way, as if seeing her naked was the most important thing in the world. Yeah, it was a double standard, and Nyssa knew it.

Nyssa glared at him as she climbed into the front seat, tossed her bag in the back and settled down. She turned to look at the sexy man again. It really was too bad she wasn’t looking for a lover. He would fit the bill to a tee.

But then, she knew he would have to speak, and that would not be good. Because Nyssa was pretty sure just by looking at him that he would have a sexy, deep, raspy voice. “Well, Ms. Dupre, welcome to Applegate Valley. Mr. Dupre was unable to come get you, so he asked me to.” Damn! She was right!

“You apparently know who I am. Who are you?”

“I’m the scalawag!” He chuckled.

“Oh, sorry.” Oops!

He chuckled again as he snapped the reins and got the wagon moving. “No, you’re not.”

Nyssa couldn’t help but laugh. “No, I’m not.” Well, at least he had a sense of humor. She hoped. “I probably shouldn’t go around calling you scalawag. Is there something else I can call you?”

“I don’t know, scalawag kind of fits right now. But if you’re really curious, it’s Sheriff Lucas Nash.”

The sheriff? Already? Well, hell! That just cut her visit time down to nearly nothing. Experience had taught her that once the local law enforcement was involved, she would soon be on the road to someplace new. She thought she would have a couple of weeks at least before she had to move on.

If it weren’t so important for her to meet with Mr. Dupre, she would have told the good sheriff to take her right back to the stagecoach station. Mr. Dupre had been good enough to provide her with an open-ended ticket. She could leave anytime she wanted, headed anywhere within 1,000 miles.

“So,” Sheriff Nash began, “how well do you know Mr. Dupre?”

“I’ve never actually met the man.” Well, it was the truth. She had never met him. They had been corresponding for about six months now. Mr. Dupre had contacted her through a newspaper ad Nyssa had placed in the Philadelphia Register concerning her search for her family. They had hit it off and begun writing letters back and forth.

When Mr. Dupre had asked her to come for a visit, how could she say no? He was nearly the only friend she had. Of course, that was because he didn’t really know about her and all of her little—peculiarities.

“Do you always go to visit men you’ve never met?” There was a slight tinge of jealousy and disgust in his voice when he asked.

Nyssa rolled her eyes as she stared across the width of the buckboard at the sheriff. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I especially like to make sure that they are rich old men, so I can milk them for all of their money. It’s what I’m good at,” she replied sarcastically.

“Really? And you know that Mr. Dupre is rich because—?”

Jeez! He actually believed that crap? “Are you for real?”

“Oh, I assure you, Ms. Dupre, I am very much for real,” he guaranteed her as he pulled into a long, gated driveway.

Nyssa looked up the driveway to see the biggest Greek Revival-style house she had ever seen. It was huge, at least three stories tall with several large windows in the front. She wondered how many windows were in the back and how many people had to be employed just to clean them all. Yikes!

“This is Mr. Dupre’s house?” she asked, astonished by the sheer size of the place.

“I’d think you would already know that, Ms. Dupre, considering you’re after Mr. Dupre’s money and all. Didn’t you do your research before you agreed to come down here?”

Nyssa snorted. “Oh my gods, are you serious? I thought that at least one person in this little backwater town would have a modicum of intelligence. Guess I was wrong.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Lucas reached across the wooden seat and grabbed her hand, giving her a small squeeze. “I can promise you, once you get to know this place, the people here, you’re not going to want to leave. Just give us a chance, Nyssa. We may surprise you.”

“Oh, I have no doubt. I’m just worried that you can’t handle my surprises.”

“I can handle any surprises you throw in my direction, Nyssa.”

Nyssa’s eyes widened at the clear message in the sheriff’s words. Hot damn! The sheriff was making a pass at her. Nyssa slid across the seat between them. She carefully lifted her dress and moved over until she was straddling his lap, his hands pressing against her back.

Leaning up, she brushed her lips across the soft edge of Lucas’s ear, feeling the shiver that passed through him. She could feel the hard length of his cock pressed between her legs, hot and throbbing.

“I have a lot of surprises, Sheriff. Are you really sure you can handle them? You’re a mighty big man, but these are some mighty big surprises,” she purred into his ear. She nearly squeaked when Lucas quickly pulled the wagon down a small dirt road and tied the reins around the brake handle.

Lucas grabbed Nyssa by the arms, pulling her up against his chest. One of his hands moved to clench tightly in her hair, the other to the small of her back.

“Try me,” he growled as he lowered his lips to hers. His tongue licked at her upper lip, asking for permission. As soon as her tongue made the tentative foray to touch his, Lucas took over. From there, it was anything but tentative. It was wet, hot, hard as Lucas devoured Nyssa’s lips, exploring, searching, and demanding.

Several moments later, when Lucas finally lifted his head, his eyes were glazed with lust. Both of them were breathing hard and fast. Nyssa lifted her eyes to Lucas’s.

“Breathing is way overrated. Kiss me again,” she demanded.

“Yes, ma'am.” Lucas chuckled as he lowered his lips to Nyssa’s again. This time the kiss was slower, deeper, nearly reaching into Nyssa’s soul and lighting her up. It was unbelievable, unlike any kiss she had ever received in the past, not that there had been that many.

Her entire sexual history consisted of one relationship four years ago that lasted all of three months and a single one-night stand. A courtesan she was not. But damned if this man didn’t make her want to throw all caution to the wind and strip his ass naked.

Nyssa moaned when one of Lucas’s large hands moved down her back to grasp her ass, gently squeezing it before moving down to grasp her hips, pushing her against his erection. She leaned back as she reached for the buttons of her dress, unbuttoned each button, slowly, one at a time.

Lucas’s breath held in his throat as Nyssa slowly parted the green calico material. Next she unbuttoned her white chemise, revealing her bare breasts to his hungry gaze. He nearly came in his pants when she reached up and pulled at her nipples until they stood up, hard and erect.

Lucas swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he reached out to gently cup each rounded globe in his hands. When each large breast settled fully into his massive hands, Lucas closed his eyes, his head falling back in delight.

“Damn! You’re perfect!” He groaned deeply, his voice thick and raspy. Leaning forward, he lifted one nipple to his lips, lavishing it with his tongue, then the other. He heard Nyssa’s moan as he gently bit down with his teeth.

“Lucas,” Nyssa whispered. Not wanting to be left out, she quickly unbuttoned Lucas’s shirt, thankful when he reached down and pulled the material out of his pants so that she could spread it away from his body.

Her hands landed on his chest, her fingers curling into the light spraying of dark curly hair she found there. Oh yes, there was nothing like a man with a little bit of chest hair. Not too much, but just enough to play with.

It sprinkled across each hard pec, a small trail going down the center of his abdomen to disappear into his tight pants. Well, Nyssa couldn’t have that. Reaching down, she pulled his belt loose, then unbuttoned his pants.

As she reached to pull the unbuttoned pants apart, Lucas grabbed her hands, stopping her. Nyssa looked up at him in surprise.

“Nyssa, do you know what you are doing?”

Nyssa smiled at Lucas. “I know what I’m doing, Lucas.”

“Nyssa, if you touch me, I don’t know if I can stop myself from having you. Do you understand that?”

She leaned in and swiped her tongue across his lips. “I’m counting on it,” she whispered against his lips.