Page 13 of Wellspring
CADE SIGHEDwith relief when Heller disappeared into the bathing room.Fuck, he’d come close to letting more show than he meant to, but Heller had this way about him that made Cade want to throw himself at Heller’s feet and beg for his attention.Oh, he knew what kind of attention that would gain him from most men—a kick to the balls if he was lucky, a bullet to the head if he wasn’t.But nothing stopped him from wanting.
When a second room opened up, he hurried inside and stripped down.He sank into the tub and let out a groan as he relaxed against the tin rim.If the water wasn’t as hot as he’d get at Wellspring, it was still hotter than the Brazos or the rain shower had been.More importantly, it was private and he could indulge his fantasies.He’d seen the way Heller stroked Zephyr’s soft nose.If he was that way with his horse, how much more care would he show a lover?
Damn, what Cade would give to find out!He jerked his cock quickly, knowing others were waiting for a bath and that Heller would probably be waiting for him outside.He briefly entertained the thought of Heller coming in to look for him and finding him like this.He’d watch at first, unsure of his welcome, but this was Cade’s fantasy, and in that fantasy, he’d dare what he couldn’t outside his thoughts and let Heller know just how welcome he was.And once he knew, all hesitation would disappear, and Heller would take charge, kneeling down beside the tub and replacing Cade’s hand with his own, stroking and rubbing until he found the perfect rhythm to bring Cade pleasure.The thought, brazen as it was, tipped him over the edge.
He was lucky no one from the ranch could see how bad he had it.Chel would laugh her ass off if she were here.Then she’d kick his for falling for someone he couldn’t have.
With a sigh, he pulled himself out of the tub, dried off, and got dressed.A drink was sounding better and better.If he couldn’t lose himself in Heller’s arms, he’d lose himself at the bottom of a bottle instead.
He walked out to see Heller waiting as he’d predicted.“Fancy a drink?”
Heller’s face wore the bland expression Cade hadn’t seen since the early days in Galveston, making Cade hope he hadn’t shouted Heller’s name without realizing it, but Heller only nodded.“Lead on.”
THE LUCKYPenny looked a lot better these days than it had the first time Cade had seen it, lost and alone in the white man’s world days after leaving the Comanche.He hadn’t been interested in the saloon girls, just in losing himself at the bottom of a bottle, but Chel hadn’t let him pass the point of no return, insisting he eat and bathe and eventually he’d found his feet again.He’d returned the favor a few years later when she’d traded the life of a saloon girl for that of a cowhand.Cade couldn’t take any credit for the saloon’s improvement other than having cleared the way for a management change.He pushed through the swinging doors and smiled.The room was busy, most of the tables full of rowdy cowhands, but the floor was clean, the chandelier bright, and the girls smiling as they served drinks and enticed the men out of their hard-earned pay.
He walked up to the bar and leaned forward casually.“Got a whiskey for a thirsty cowboy?”
The bartender was reaching for a bottle when a sultry voice stopped him.“The good stuff for this one, Rudy.”
“You’re looking fine, Abby.”Cade ran an appreciative eye over the tall, auburn-haired woman in the stylish dress, its higher neckline and silky material distinguishing her from the rest of the girls.
“Miss Roth,” she corrected him.“Have to keep these buckaroos in line nowadays.”
“Miss Roth,” Cade repeated, unable to stop his smile.
“That’ll be a nickel,” Rudy said as he set the whiskey on the bar.
“A nickel?”Cade repeated.“That’s highway robbery,Miss Roth.”
“That’s good whiskey, Mr.Webster,” Abigail replied.She turned to the bartender.“His drinks are on the house.”
“And my friend’s?”Cade asked.“You aren’t going to make him drink the cheap swill, are you?”
“I can pay for my drink,” Heller protested from where he stood a few steps away from the bar.
“His too.”She waved them toward a table.“Anything else, you’ll both have to pay for, just like anyone else.”
“I wouldn’t dream of denying your girls their hard-earned money,” Cade said.Not that he’d be doing anything with them for them to earn any of his money, but he wasn’t going to saythatout loud.Heller might be interested, after all.Watching Heller walk up the stairs of the Lucky Penny with any of Abigail’s girls, knowing he was interested in them, not in Cade, would mean he’d misread everything since leaving Galveston.If ever there was a reason to get drunk, that would be it.
“Pick your poison, Heller.”Cade gestured to the array of bottles behind the bar.“Miss Roth stocks a fine selection.”
“Perhaps a brandy, then.”Once the bartender poured Heller’s drink, Cade pulled out a chair and settled in at the table Abigail indicated.
“Business seems good,” he commented while Heller followed and took his own seat.
“Better now that Farrell’s gone.”A commotion at a table across the room drew her attention, and her expression hardened.“They never learn.Enjoy your drinks, gentlemen.”She stalked away toward the ruckus, leaving Cade sure that particular cowboy would never be welcome at the Penny again.
Sure enough, she had the brawl settled and the offending cowboy tossed out in a matter of minutes.Cade took a sip of his whiskey and smiled at Heller.“That is one hell of a woman.”
“You know her well,” Heller said, his expression blank and his voice neutral.
“Pretty well,” Cade replied.“I helped her and the girls out a couple years back, nothing any decent man wouldn’ta done.Abigail shows her gratitude with free drinks when I’m back in town.”
Heller raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, one of the saloon girls dropped into Cade’s lap and threw her arms around his neck “Cade!”she squealed.“It’s been forever since you came around!”
“You know me, Millie.”Cade pulled the dark-haired girl in the low-cut gown into a tight hug.“I go where the wind takes me.Or where Miz Roarke sends me, anyway.”
She pouted at him and pressed a smacking kiss to his cheek.He rubbed at it and grimaced when his fingers came away covered in her lipstick.“Did you have to get rouge all over my face?”he asked.
