“Show me, Cassie.” He demands as she moves to straddle him. Determined to take things slowly, his hands grasp her hips to help guide her, but Cassie has other plans. She drops all her weight slamming the full length of his steel into her hot, ready body. Her scream of pleasure is mingled with his, and all good intentions flee.
Passion takes over, and he watches her beautiful body ride him, taking him to the height of ecstasy. Frantic to show him how he makes her feel, Cassie soon forgets all worry, seeking only to quench her desperate desire for him. Dalton feels her tighten around him and they climb the mountain of sensations.
Soon the water grows cold, and they are laughing as they dry each other off and rush to the bedroom to warm up by the fire. Wrapped in blankets, they eat apples and biscuits, while he watches Cassie dry her hair in front of the crackling fireplace.
“I can't wait to sleep in a bed again,” Cassie states as she watches Dalton eat his second apple. The juice drips down the side of his chin and into his blonde beard, and he smiles in satisfaction at the look of lust that enters her eyes.
“I am not sure how much sleep you’ll be getting,” he says growling.
Cassie crawls across the floor on her hands and knees towards him, taunting him, “Well, I am younger than you, Dalton. Are you sure you can keep up with me?”
“Quite sure, Mrs. Rivers.” Two hours later they sleep wrapped in each other’s arms and dream of the future.
Chapter 31
Aiden stops at the post office in Brigham City on the morning of his third day to check for messages. The clerk avoids eye contact when he gives him the message and quickly leaves him alone with the slip of paper. “Eustace is dead. Lynch mob, talk of arresting you when you return.”
He isn't sure how to feel. He waits for the pain that everyone speaks of when a family member dies, but he feels… free. Freed of the responsibility. A slow smile spreads, and he rings the bell drawing the clerk from the back room.
“Tell me where the best place would be to hire a tracker?” Aiden demands.
Brigham City is indeed hell on earth, to any of those unfortunate enough to be passing through. Aiden finds it refreshing. If one has a problem, they deal with it.
Just last night two men entered the bar and accused him of rape, or some such nonsense. Aiden explained to them that he left a silver coin, but that only seemed to infuriate the man even further. So, he buried his knife deep in the man's chest and sliced straight up into his heart, while the boy watched his father die. He tossed the body at the fourteen-year-old boy and laughed at the look on his face. Those watching did nothing. They turned away as if blind, it was amazing. When the boy raised his shaking pistol and shot it, he missed. A bullet in the head was a favor to Aiden's way of thinking. Now he wouldn't have to live a lifetime with his failure. He then searched the bodies and took everything of value, including a pocket watch before returning to his drink.
The saloon owner had dragged the bodies outside and tossed them into the street. They would be left to rot unless a family member claimed them.
He smiles as he checks the time on his newfound watch. After he takes care of business today, he will have to pay that girl another visit.
“No Name Saloon is your best bet. You best be careful. The worst of the worst hang out there. Ex-soldiers, trackers, bandits and bounty hunters, so watch your back.”
Aiden laughs as he walks out twirling the gold watch on his finger, “Sounds like my kind of place.”
The center of town looked like a typical bustling town if you overlooked the dead bodies on the street, or the trash, and the stench of decay and desperation in the air. Aiden is staying at the nicest hotel in town as money is no object to him. Soon he will have Cassie and her gold mine back, and then the money will flow once more. Besides, he took plenty from the townspeople before he left. His money is blown on whores, drink, and gambling while moving around town, hiring the men he will need.
When the storms roll in, Aiden decides to take his time. Cassie has grown careless and tracking her will be easy. It would have taken them a week to reach Wyoming by train, and that was if they'd stayed on it. Since they are moving on horseback and traveling through storms, he is assuming it will take longer.
No Name Saloon is attached to the brothel in the center of town. It is a two-story wooden building with a small balcony above the main porch. Hitching posts for horses and a few tables and chairs outside. The music is loud, the smoke thick and the fights, are constant.
Aiden sidesteps a group barreling through the swinging doors. The fight tumbles into the street and shots ring out, while he lights a cigarette and watches to see who wins. He laughs when they shoot each other dead and both fall to the ground. The vultures move in and strip anything of value.
Stepping inside the saloon, Aiden finds a typical saloon for this part of the country. A wooden stairway leads upstairs to the “play rooms” attended by the ladies from the brothel next door. A highly polished mahogany bar stretches the length of the room with two bartenders working it. Cowboys line the bar, some with saloon girls draped over them. A large stage with a piano next to it
