Page 25 of Hard Bounty

Now it was Mary who was fighting the urge to blush. She didn’t know why. She’d already spent a night with him. Of course, nothing happened on that hard cave floor. And it had all ended when a mountain lion meandered up on them. There wasn’t a chance to do much under circumstances like that.

Sleeping in an honest to goodness hotel room seemed different, though. It seemed…intimate.

“If you’re worried about your honor, I understand,” he said. “I can see if the holster would let me bed down in the livery stable with my horses and—”

“My honor? I’m an outlaw queen,” she said with a laugh. “Remember?”

He laughed, too.

Something in his eyes told her maybe he didn’t buy all the stories about her, after all.

“I’ll carry the gear up. Once it’s stowed away, we can have a meal in the hotel restaurant. I’ll see if the desk clerk can send someone to fetch you a nightgown from the store or something. I assume sleeping in that dress isn’t very comfortable,” he said, picking up his bedroll and other items he’d stripped off the horses. “Rest will be important tonight, too. I want us to hit the trail bright and early tomorrow morning. We’ve got a long way to Fort Smith yet.”

Mary’s heart sank.

Fort Smith meant jail. And court.

And being separated from John Hardin.

She tried to stuff those feelings down and just enjoy the moment.

They were together now. She’d take whatever time she could get.

***

Dinner passed uneventfully.

There had been some conversation, but for the most part, it was pretty quiet. Mary wasn’t sure if that was because John was tired, because he felt himself getting too involved with her, or was trying to keep it professional.

Either way, she was a tad disappointed, though she didn’t voice that.

Once they were walking back into the room, John said, “I’ll step out and give you some privacy. That nightgown is supposed to be waiting on the bed.”

Sure enough, it was.

“Thank you for this,” she said.

He simply nodded and waited outside the room while she changed.

After she had changed and he came back in, she thanked him again. “It’s nice to be out of that dress.” She pushed on the mattress. “If I’m going to sleep in this nice, big, soft bed, I want to really enjoy it.”

“Yes, ma’am. That makes sense.”

They readied for bed, both facing the opposite direction, trying to act as if they didn’t want to peek. She’d be in that gown all night but would be more concealed once she was under the covers. Right now, she felt a tad exposed, but not outright indecent. And it made her smile that John was pretending as if he didn’t want to steal a glance.

At least, she assumed he was pretending.

She certainly was.

She wanted nothing more than to glance over and feast upon the sight of his shirtless torso as he used the wash basin to clean up, but she resisted the urge.

Well, she resisted it for as long as possible. After a few moments, she just couldn’t hold out.

His back was knotty with taut muscles, and the bulge of his shoulders caused her to lick her lips.

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t realize he was turning around until it was too late and she was staring at his bare chest and gorgeous, sculpted abs.

“Guess we’ll get on the road at first light, huh?” she said, eager to fill the awkward silence and direct the focus away from her obvious gawking.

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