Gold Dust Widow: The Story of an Outlaw's Revenge

Chapter 26: Jasper

I paced outside the hotel room waiting for her. She'd taken a couple of good long minutes before finally agreeing to go down to the wedding party to eat, dancing wasn't mentioned. But she'd wanted to be clean first.

So now, after having checked on the horses in the stable, I was pacing outside the room while she bathed and dressed, and my mind spun.

I was torn between diving back into the room, picking her naked from the steaming bath and having my way with her on the bed for the rest of the night; and taking her across the street to a stranger's wedding, where, I hoped, she could dance and have some fun, be happy.

I wondered if she'd allowed herself that emotion in the last five years.

Running my fingers through my hair, I knew she hadn't. She'd been shattered, and she'd been trying to pick up the pieces for years. Hunting endlessly for the man, men, who took her life from her. There was no space for happiness in revenge.

It suddenly seemed important to me, that she throw back her head and laugh. She needed to see that there was more to vengeance, that I could give her more.

I wanted to. She was the only woman I wanted to keep around, the only woman I ever wanted to wake up to in the morning. She was my exception, and I needed to make her understand.

Or I would lose her forever.

I was pondering how to seduce a reckless female outlaw when she opened the door and stepped out.

For a moment, my breath caught, and I couldn't form any sentences.

Her dark wet hair had been pulled back and pinned in delicately, in swoops and curls. She was wearing a blue dress; somehow, it was the same cornflower blue as her eyes.

It hung low and delicately off her pale shoulders, baring her soft skin, the curves of her throat, her collarbones, her golden necklace, the hollows and all her scars. It pulled into her waist with the wide white ribbon and flared at her hips, seemingly tantalizing me with all her curves.

However, the worst part, her breasts, seemingly free from any corset, was pushed against the fabric, visible.

She was gazing up at me, her cheeks held a rosy tint, almost shy. "The housemaid had it, I'll return it tonight," she breathed, fingering the blue fabric. "Do you like it?"

Did I like it? She had never looked more irresistible. She was the most stunning creature I had ever seen. And I knew every man in the wedding would also be drooling over her peaked nipples.

"No," I barked, surprising both of us.

Her eyes widened and her blush deepened.

"Oh!"

"You can't wear that," I hissed.

She scowled up at me. "The hell I can't!"

"You aren't even wearing a corset! I can see right through!" I snapped.

"Hardly! It's blue."

"I can see the shapes," I continued, reaching up and cupping one of her warm breasts through the fabric. For a split second her eyes fluttered as I squeezed, feeling the soft weight, the peak in my hand.

I wanted nothing more than to rip the dress off her and push her back into the room completely naked.

Then she regained her senses and battered my hand away. I scowled at her as she reached for the door and shut it behind her, locking Ares inside.

"You are not going like that. They'll take you for a common whore!" I snarled.

"Then it's a shame for you that you called me your wife," she snapped back, already marching down the stairs. "Now take me to the party, Jasper, I'm starving!"