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produced by animals more dangerous that those that stalked their prey
at night drunken, greedy men.
Then he heard a scream, a woman s scream. And the voice
sounded chillingly close to Katherine s. Fire and ice burst through his
veins as he bounded toward the stairs, leaping over them in one jump.
He flung himself through the doors of the saloon to find Katherine
struggling in Mr. Davis s grip while Billy advanced on her, the
broken bottle in his hand swooping toward her face.
Gideon reacted without thinking. He rushed toward them, his long
strides eating up the distance. His fist collided with Mr. Davis s
cheekbone, right where it curved up and around his eye. He heard the
man howl in pain, then grunt as he fell to the floor, releasing
Katherine. Gideon s gaze roamed over her body, assessing her,
looking for any blood or signs of pain before he pivoted around to
face Billy, who slashed the bottle down toward him.
Gideon pounced backward, let the jagged edges pass over his
body, grabbed Billy s wrist, twisting it up until he heard Billy
screech. The bottle fell to the floor. Gideon pulled the other man
toward him, shoved his knee into Billy s stomach, felt the mad rush of
air escaping his opponent s mouth, then used his free elbow to hit
Billy just under his ear. Billy fell to the floor face down, arms and
legs splayed haphazardly. He was out.
Are you all right? he asked Katherine. He glanced at Mr.
Davis s and Billy s prone forms before returning his attention to her.
He noticed she had not moved an inch since he freed her from Mr.
Davis s grip.
She just stared at him, her mouth hanging open a little.
Katherine? He dipped his head so he could look into her eyes.
He put his hands on her shoulders. They felt so small. He shook her.
Katherine, are you all right? If Katherine did not need his attention,
he would have slit the other men s throats for laying their filthy hands
on her. Fucking shit. He needed to hit something.
66 Christine Michaels
She nodded, swallowed, and closed her mouth. Her pouty lips
turned white and her whole body trembled.
I& I m all right. I think. She sank against him and buried her
face in his chest. Oh, God.
The door to the kitchen burst open. Bessie stood in the threshold
with her shotgun drawn and her hair in a tangled mess about her head.
What the fuck is going on here? She scanned the room down the
barrel of her shotgun before her gaze landed on Gideon and
Katherine. You. Gideon. She gestured at him with the barrel of her
gun. Explain what in Christ s balls is goin on here.
Put your gun down, Bess. It s all right. I got it all taken care of.
How s she doin ? She pointed her chin toward Katherine who
still clutched at Gideon s shirt front.
Hell if I know. She won t say anything.
Is she cryin ?
Gideon cringed, feeling the wetness seeping into his shirt. I think
so.
Aww, the poor baby, all comin here new to town and havin all
these crazy fools scarin her. Bessie crossed the room, kicking Billy
and Mr. Davis for good measure as she went. Now, you come here,
darlin .
She took Katherine from Gideon and gathered her in arms but not
before unceremoniously dumping her shotgun into Gideon s hands.
Then she eyed him.
You, bein a man, ain t got no clue as to how to deal with a
cryin woman. Go make yourself useful by takin out this here trash.
She spat on the floor right next to Billy s face.
* * * *
I m fine, really. It s just a scratch, Gideon said as Katherine
opened her bedroom door and dragged him in. By the time he
Kat Rides the Iron Men 67
returned to the saloon, she had stopped crying and honed in on the
gash on his arm.
But it s bleeding so much, Katherine complained.
It s fine. Really. I ll just go and
Oh, no you don t, Katherine said when Gideon turned toward
the door. You need to get that washed before it starts to fester. Lord
knows how dirty that thing was. She grabbed his shirt and dragged
him farther into the room. I need to look at it now.
Gideon felt a smile play across his lips when she grabbed him.
Feisty little thing. She let go of his shirt. He watched her hips sway as
she crossed the room, reached for her matches, and lit the lamp next
to the bed.
She noticed the blood on his shirt the moment he came back from
throwing Mr. Davis and Billy out of the saloon. She took one look at
him, told him to sit down, and bent over to tear a strip of cloth from
the hem of her dress.
His cock jumped at the beautiful sight her ass made hovering in
the air like the most luscious offering. He wanted to lift her skirts,
grab her hips, and plunge into her right there. He knew her pussy
would be as sweet as her pouty mouth. She must have seen the look
on his face because when she straightened, something passed over her
eyes and shifted her gaze away from his.
Here, let me tie this around your arm. It ll help stop the
bleeding, she said. She held her hands steady this time. Thank God.
He did not have the first clue about how to deal with emotional
women. He stiffed when she rose up on her toes and brushed her lips
against his cheek. Thank you, she whispered.
Gideon snapped out of his reverie and looked around the
threadbare room. The window stood directly across from the door,
and the bed sat to his right with a washbasin on one side and a
nightstand on the other. A small dresser leaned against the wall next
to the door.
68 Christine Michaels
Bessie must really like Katherine. Gideon noticed that the bed,
covered with clean white sheets, would comfortably fit two people.
Maybe three if the occasion called for it. He smiled to himself and
reached up to his collar, unbuttoning his shirt with his right hand.
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