A smile spread over his face. He had been disappointed a moment ago when he realized she left, but that last sentence on the note brought his spirits up to soaring levels again.
He quietly tiptoed to his bed, not to awaken James, and laid down, bringing his arms to rest under his head as he stared at the ceiling. His mind brought him back to last night’s journey of intimacy. He couldn’t help but grin remembering how she looked naked on the bed, her skin glowing, her eyes full of wanton hunger and anticipation. His cock became excited with every vivid, arousing image.
He had to admit, he had originally been hesitant about James’s idea that they both seduce her. He’d never done something like that before, and he found it uncomfortable to think of both of them being sexually intimate with her at the same time. But when he saw her kissing James and how she reacted to him, he found it highly stimulating to watch. And he could bet James felt the same way.
Leaning to his side, his mind wandered further to thoughts of where tonight would lead. Making love to her while James watched, or vice versa, brought him to heightened excitement. His imagination delighted him to no end with all the possibilities, but then a disturbing thought began to build in the dark crevices of his mind and crept to the forefront of his thoughts without his consent. The thought of Belle being the famous outlaw Isabelle LaRue. The fact she didn’t hesitate in participating in last’s night lewd, taboo activities and also suggested they take it to further heights tonight made warning bells shrill in his head.
This brought him one step closer to believing she was the ruthless outlaw, and his heart hurt with the thought. He wished she weren’t because deep down, he had begun to feel something for her that entailed more than lust. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it felt sincere, protective, and loving, and it frightened the hell out of him.
Belle touched her lips, remembering the night before, and sighed. Both Trevor’s and James’s kisses were unforgettable and she longed to be with them again.
When she awoke at five o’clock this morning with Trevor’s arm on her waist and her face leaning on James’s chest, she couldn’t help but smile. It felt good to be lying between the most gorgeous men she had ever laid eyes on and to feel their warmth and remember how they brought her to such an ecstatic state last night. She wanted to stay there with them, perhaps see where their sexual adventures would lead them still, but she had to leave.
She needed to get away from them, far away from them, and focus, think. She couldn’t be preoccupied with lustful thoughts that made butterflies flutter in her stomach, weakened her legs, or made her head swoon. She had to think of far more important things, like her mission and that James and Trevor could very well put everything in jeopardy.
Considering the fact that the handsome men seemed to turn her mind to mush whenever they were in close proximity to her, she figured she needed reinforcements. She couldn’t do this alone. Without realizing it last night, by being intimate with them, she passed the boundary of objectivity. Her feelings for them fogged her judgment. The reason why she originally wanted to seduce them vanished and she was no closer today to finding out the real reason for their appearance in town.
And that predicament was why she stood outside the sheriff’s office at Little Rock right this minute, taking a deep breath for courage. She staked out the place for the past half hour. When she saw the sheriff leave, she walked up to the front door and pushed it open to step inside. John sat at the front of the office with his feet up on top of the desk. The second he saw her step inside, he moved his feet off the desk and got up with a start.
“Belle, what are you doing here?”
She walked past him looking around. “Relax, I have no more news.” She glanced in the jail cell and saw it was empty, then peeked through the other door. “Where’s Mat?”
And just as she mentioned his name, he walked up behind her. “Here. What’s up?”
“Ah, you scared me!” She jumped, startled.
He laughed while walking past her to sit at the table next to John. He pushed the chair out next to him. “Sit, Belle.”
She shook her head and strode to the window to check if anyone else was coming by. She didn’t need any more complications.
“If you’re worried about Sam, don’t be. He isn’t gonna be back until later today. It’s only me and Mat until then,” John said.
“Good. The last thing I want is the sheriff to know I’m here.” She sighed with relief.
Mat corrected her. “No, you don’t want him knowing you’re in Fort Smith and that you’re the saloon girl singer at Eden’s Paradise.”
She pointed her finger at him. “Don’t start acting smart, Mat. I have no time for that. Besides, if he knew you both were my accomplices, you’d be in just as much trouble as I’d be.”
“True, so what’s your hurry?”
“I have to get back to town to get ready for the show. But I needed to talk to you both before I did. I need your help.” She huffed.
“Oh, now you need our help,” John piped in.
“Why are you giving me a hard time? You know I need to be on my own on this out there. Having you two as my sidekicks would bring too much attention to us, and if people like the sheriff there started asking questions, then my whole secret operation would be exposed. Besides, you need to keep Sam busy here, so he isn’t on to us. You know he is our biggest problem at the moment.”
“You’re right.” John leaned on the backrest of his chair. “So what help do you need from us?”
“Well, remember those two men you told me about the night before yesterday, Trevor Kent and James Sanford?”
“Um. What about them?” Mat responded.
“Well, as luck would have it, they’re staying in the room next to mine at the Mayflower Inn.”
Mat slapped his leg. “Darn. Talk about a coincidence.”
“Yes, but don’t get too excited, boys. I think there’s more to them than just being the new expressmen. They are way too smart to be just that. And I’ve tried to get information out of them, but they aren’t squealing.”
Both John and Mat sat to attention then.
“How exactly did you try to get stuff out of them?” Mat asked, squinting with suspicion.
Without giving away her whole seedy, bawdy, sexual, heavenly experience she had with the two irresistible men, she replied, “That doesn’t matter. What matters is I’m suspicious.”
John got up huffing. “Well, that’s it, Belle. If you’re suspicious, then it’s time to get out of there before it gets too dangerous.”
How dare he tell her to quit now when they were that close?
“What? No, I’m not.” She frowned.
Even Mat came to John’s defense. “Belle, he’s right. If you’re right, which you usually are, then it could get dangerous.”
“No, I can handle things.” She shook her head vigorously.
“What if they know who you are and know the real reason why you’re in town?” they asked at the same time.
Now her patience was running thin. “I don’t think they know. At least not yet.”
This time, only Mat asked, “How can you be so sure?”
Her voice raised an octave with her frustrations. “Just because. That’s all.”
“Okay, then what do we do now?” Mat asked.
She began to pace as she ironed out the last thoughts in her mind. “Well, I’ve invited them both to Eden’s Paradise to hear me sing this evening. I want you two to go into their room and check it out.”
They stared at each other. “All right, Belle. We’ll do it your way, but if we find something, anything, that proves your suspicions are right, then we’re gonna call in reinforcements. We won’t wait for your call on it,” John said while crossing his arms over his chest.
As much as she wanted to argue with them, she couldn’t. They were right. If James and Trevor were who they suspected, then nothing she could say would save them. Her heart almost broke at the thought.
