Tess Read online

The buggy stopped out the back of The Black Garter saloon, and the driver climbed down.

  Nathan alighted. “Stable the horse please, and take the mutt, too.”

  “Where would you like me to take him, boss?”

  “To share the stable with the horse,” Nathan said as he leaned over Tess. “We’re here.”

  “Here?” Tess sounded drowsy, disorientated.

  “My place.”

  “Your place?” She glanced around, and even with the lanterns spilling out light she could not see much except for the dark outline of a double story building on the edge of Deadwood.

  “Tarnation, where else would I take you?”

  “Grenadier and Fleabag, where are they?” Fear raised her voice.

  “They’re safe. My man took them to the stables.”

  “Fleabag always sleeps with me.”

  “Too bad, that dirty old mutt isn’t sleeping with me.”

  “But…”

  “You are.” Her shocked breath sounded loud in his ears. “I will share my bed with a woman, but not a dog.”

  “But, Nathan…”

  “You will do anything I ask, remember?”

  “Yes.” She ignored his proffered hand, nimbly dropping to the ground.

  “I want you in my bed tonight. Of course, if you’ve changed your mind, I can always get my man to take the three of you back to the gypsy.”

  “No, please, I want to stay.” She reached into the buggy and dragged out a canvas sack.

  “What do you have in there?”

  “My…my clothes.”

  “Only clothes?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t like admitting that a few items of old clothing were all she possessed.

  “You won’t be needing them.” He snatched the sack out of her hand and tossed it on the ground.

  “What will I wear?” Any clothes he supplied could not be worse than what she had.

  “If, and when you need clothes, I’ll supply them.”

  A middle-aged man dressed all in black met them at the door. He walked with a pronounced limp.

  “Good evening, Nathan.”

  “Good evening, Jenkins.”

  Jenkins glanced at Tess and puzzlement momentarily flashed in his eyes, before he composed his features and became as poker faced as before. Behind Nathan’s back, he gave her a hard, suspicious glare as he escorted them down a wide hallway with huge timber beams holding up the gabled roof.

  The floor felt cold and hard under her bare feet, and she inwardly trembled. If she didn’t give Nathan what he wanted tonight, didn’t please him, she would be banished, then what would happen to her, Fleabag and Grenadier?

  Could she do it? Let him have his way with her? He was not like Edwin Benditt, she had to believe this or she was doomed. She was not a child of fourteen any more, she was a young woman. Rolf and his wife had assured her, not all men were brutes, that the act could be good between a man and a woman. Fear pressed down on her chest until her breathing became constricted.

  Jenkins escorted them to a doorway and unlocked a wooden door, stepped back for them to enter and said, “will there be anything else, Nathan?”

  “No, thank you. You might as well head off to bed, we’ll take breakfast in my quarters, and make sure some of Chloe’s potion is available.”

  “Of course, goodnight.”

  The door closed with a loud click. “These are my private quarters, the top section of the building is a hotel for special, um, guests.”

  Tess wandered over to a set of glass doors, which opened onto a walled garden, unbelievable in a lawless, rough town like Deadwood.

  “It’s completely private.” He strode over to her, pushed the doors open and the perfume of early summer roses permeated the night air.

  The sky was full of twinkling stars, and a fat moon hung over the horizon.

  “Once the door to the hallway is shut, my quarters are completely sealed off from the rest of the hotel. You could walk around naked, and no-one except me, would see you.”

  Nervous excitement shivered along her nerve endings when he removed his shirt. His chest was tanned and smooth, except for a puckered area under his nipple.

  She put out a trembling finger and ran it across the roughness, somehow knowing that the wound had penetrated deep. “What happened?”

  “A Confederate bullet. Enough talk. Undress.”

  “I…I…”

  With shaking fingers, she undid the buttons on her top and removed it, his nostrils flared, his eyes gleamed, deepening their blueness until they were almost navy. She fumbled with her harem pants.

  He reached over and wrenched them down and she stepped out of them, then she removed the short, tight fitting drawers. She stood naked and trembling in front of him. Heat washed over her body at his intense scrutiny.

  You’re a fallen woman, no decent man would ever offer to wed you. Think of Grenadier and Fleabag. Nathan was certainly a handsome man.

  “You’re mine, Tess, bought and paid for.”

  “I know.”

  Her lips trembled and her eyes filled with tears making him feel like a low-down skunk. He would never let her return to that gypsy brute, although he wasn’t prepared to let her know it. Her devotion to the horse he could understand being a horse lover himself, that’s why he had to have it. If he did end up buying a ranch, a thoroughbred stallion would be worth his weight in gold. He liked dogs as a rule, but that mangy mutt was the ugliest creature he had ever seen.

  “There’s no need to weep.” He reached out and used the flat of his thumb to wipe a tear from her cheek. “You can wander through my quarters here, or out into the garden anytime when I’m not here. You are not to pass through the door into the hallway – ever, unless you’re with me.”

  She caught her breath. “Am I your prisoner?”

  “No, it’s too dangerous.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “This building houses a private gentlemen’s club. My members pay a high premium so their every whim will be catered for. If they see you and desire your body, I would have to hand you over to them, to use in any way they choose.”

  “No, no.” She fell to her knees and held her hands over her heart. “Please, I want to stay with you.”

  “You’ll be safe here as long as you don’t venture out on your own.”

  “What about exercising Grenadier?”

  “I’ll make arrangements for someone to accompany you if I can’t escort you. Another thing, there’s a cellar directly under the main bedroom. You are never to go there, you understand. Under no circumstances. No matter what you hear – stay away.”

  “All right.”

  “Come on, time we were in bed.”

  Without a word, she took his proffered hand. He led her to a large four poster bed with deep green hangings. The room was well lit with several wall lanterns.

  He surveyed her body; he had never seen skin so white or flawless. What a beauty. The breath caught in his throat. He squashed down on the feeling of guilt for having virtually blackmailed her into his bed. It was not as if she was a virgin.

  The bedcovers had been turned down. He trusted no-one except Jenkins to enter his private domain and to look after his creature comforts. Jenkins had kept him alive in the long months when they were imprisoned and tortured, had been instrumental in arranging their escape from the Confederate prison. In gratitude, he had given his savior a half share of everything he owned. His friend didn’t need to work now they were both rich. Being the type of man who disliked being idle, Jenkins enjoyed playing the role of butler.

  Nathan blew out the lamps, all except one. He couldn’t stand total darkness after months of blackness when he was held in an underground cell. Had Jenkins not been incarcerated with him, he would have gone stark, raving mad.

  He picked Tess up. Excitement, like nothing he had ever experienced before, surged through him. This was going to be a night to remember, he didn’t doubt it for a moment. He laid her on the sheet, she tried to roll
over, but he stopped her with a hand on her stomach.

  She looked pure and unsullied, like a bride waiting for her husband to join her in their marriage bed. A fallen women maybe, although her creamy, flawless flesh was a worthy prize. The thought of that gypsy oaf having his way with her was like a red hot poker being driven into his gut.

  Climbing into bed, he reached for her immediately. He didn’t normally kiss whores, but this exquisite girl was different. His mouth covered hers and he enjoyed tasting her soft, sweet lips.

  She lay as stiff as a board and he could hear the frantic pounding of her heart. “It will be good between us.” He moved his mouth so he could nuzzle her throat. His hand went to her breast and she flinched. “Don’t be frightened of me, I would never hurt a woman.” He rolled one nipple between his thumb and forefinger, the other one he drew into his mouth and suckled it hard.

  He felt her trembling hands cupping either side of his head, her fingers pressing into his hair.

  Tess tried not to tense up, Nathan had freed her from Vince’s evil clutches, and he was not a sadistic beast like Edwin Benditt. She ran her hand across his back, her fingers contacting with lines of roughened skin.

  Butterflies cavorted deep within her. A million stars sparkled inside her head, so bright she had to close her eyes so they wouldn’t blind her.

  Great tremors shook his body, his breathing became labored. He was thrusting deeper, harder, faster, and her nails dug into the flesh of his shoulders. She didn’t want him to stop. Edwin Benditt had continually raped her. Savage, uncaring he had slammed her on to a bed. She had hated the pain, the sheer agony of the vicious attack. Nathan was different, a calming warmth spread over her body and she began to want him as much as he obviously wanted her.

  Nathan wrapped his arms around her. “You can rest now,” he whispered into her hair, even though she had already fallen into an exhausted sleep. After her initial fear, and no-one would know more about fear than him, she had relaxed and enjoyed his lovemaking.

  She had been sexually abused he did not doubt it for a moment. Rape. The ugly word jumped into his mind and would not go away. That would explain a lot of things. Raped and impregnated, no wonder she had tried to rid herself of the child.

  If I ever find the culprit, I’ll rip him apart with my bare hands.

  ~*~

  The sun streaming through a crack in the curtains woke Nathan from the best sleep he had had since his brother betrayed him to the Confederate army. Usually he would spend half the night prowling the room, sleeping only a couple of hours at a time. For a moment, he couldn’t recall why he felt so warm and contented then he glanced at the girl sleeping next to him. She was angelic looking, her rosebud lips parted into a smile, her features peaceful.

  ~*~

  Tess woke up alone in the bed. Where was Nathan? She put out a hand to the spot where he had lain and the sheet felt cold.

  She sat up and glanced around. In the daylight, the room looked expensively furnished but dull and forbidding, very masculine. Sliding out of bed, her feet touched smooth floor boards. She ran her hands over her nipples and they felt a little tender. Her heart was light because, after the initial shock had worn off, she had enjoyed what they shared. Instinctively she knew Nathan had too, although he said nothing. Even though he must have known she wasn’t a virgin, he had uttered no words of condemnation

  What was in store for her now? She couldn’t work in a brothel, the very thought made her sick. If only she could be his woman.

  Glancing around for something to cover her nakedness she remembered she only had her circus costume, which lay on the floor of his parlor where she had discarded it last night.

  The door swung open and Nathan marched in dressed in brown pants and a white shirt covered by a brown leather waistcoat. He had recently bathed and shaved, his damp hair curling up at the ends.

  “So, you’re awake now?” He stared at her, his blue-eyed gaze encompassing her body with one single sweep.

  “Good morning, Nathan.” Her body burned at his intense scrutiny.

  “Who said you could call me Nathan?

  She shrugged.

  He folded his arms across his chest and grinned. “You can, everyone else does. Come out to the parlor, Jenkins has prepared breakfast for us.”

  “Thank you, what about clothes?”

  He laughed and what a difference it made to him. It took years off his age and he had a definite dimple in his chin. “You’d be too distracting naked, I’d want to eat you instead of breakfast.”

  He stepped over to a chest of drawers and pulled out a neatly folded white shirt and handed it over. “This is the best I can do right now. After we’ve eaten I will send for Chloe, a Creole woman who works for me, she can prepare a bath for you. She’ll bring you a gown to wear. Later, I’ll escort you to the stables.”

  “Thank you, I’d like Grenadier to keep up his training.”

  “I’ll think about it. Come and eat, I’m hungry.”

  She followed him out to the parlor where a table was set up with fine white crockery. There was a plate of steaming biscuits, eggs, bacon and freshly made coffee.

  He pulled a chair out for her and once she was seated, he leaned over and kissed the back of her neck. His breath was warm against her skin, she smelt his scent, soap and warm, clean man.

  He straightened up and took a seat opposite. “You’re a beguiling young woman. I wish I had the time to spend all day in bed with you.”

  He pushed a glass of creamy white liquid at her. “Every morning before you eat, I want you to drink this. You understand. Every morning without fail.”

  “Yes.” She gulped down the foul-tasting mixture, and took a mouthful of coffee to take away the horrible taste.

  She reached over and picked up one of his hands and held it between her own. “Last night I felt raised stripes on your back. What happened?”

  He snatched his hand away. “Mind your own damn business.” His eyes turned ice cold, his expression hardened. “I don’t wish to discuss it with the likes of you.”

  “It might help.”

  “Nothing will help.”

  His bleak statement tore at her heart. She didn’t have any experience with men, didn’t have much experience with anything really. It was obvious even to her that Nathan was a tormented man.

  Jenkins limped in and she felt embarrassed at her near naked state.

  Nathan gave a harsh bark of laughter. “Jenkins has seen naked women before, bedded plenty of them too.”

  Tess cringed at his deliberate crudity, the warm intimacy of before disappearing in a flash. He was treating her like a whore. Of course, in his eyes and those of the world, she was one.

  Jenkins didn’t say a word, just cleaned the table and stacked everything neatly on a tray. “Shall I send Chloe up now?” he asked.

  “Yes, she can use the other bedroom, I’ve work to do in my study.”

  Nathan would have to be blind not to see the hurt in her eyes. How could his mood have changed with such speed and violence?

  A few minutes after Jenkins left, a knock came to the door. Tess still sat at the table she didn’t know what else to do.

  Nathan returned from answering the door with a tall Negro woman walking a couple of paces behind him. She wore loose green silk trousers that showed off her long legs. Her large breasts strained against the silken fabric of her gold-trimmed camisole.

  “Good morning,” Tess said.

  The woman nodded her head in acknowledgement.

  “I want you to help Tess bathe,” Nathan said abruptly. “Then you can massage her and apply some of your salve to any parts that are sore.

  “Come,” Chloe said once the door of what Tess presumed was his study clicked shut.

  She followed Chloe into a bathing room. There was a large white bath tub with a pipe hanging down from it. A marble topped dresser held several jugs and bowls of varying sizes, all in white. A shaving brush, with a few flecks of lather still on it, sat in a sma
ll jug.

  An open doorway led into another room and she glimpsed a high narrow bed. When Chloe pressed a lever, a gurgling noise was followed by water pouring from the pipe. A bubbling cauldron of boiling water sat on a stove.

  Tess could scarcely believe her eyes.

  When the bath was ready, Chloe gestured for her to step in. The warm liquid washed over her as she lowered herself to the floor of the bath. Never could she remember being fully immersed in warm water. She had always made do with washing from a bowl.

  She closed her eyes as the black woman washed her hair in sweet smelling liquid. This luxury might never come again if Nathan banished her, and the way he was acting this morning, it was obvious her stay would be short. Fear almost overwhelmed her. What was to become of her?

  After Chloe dried her body on a soft white towel, they stepped into the other room. The bed was covered in a white sheet, there was an open topped dresser containing numerous bottles.

  “Some of my potions,” Chloe said. “Nathan likes a massage.”

  With the large breasts dangling in his face, Tess did not doubt he enjoyed every minute of it.

  “Lie on your back and relax. Nathan is a demanding lover and can be inconsiderate when he has one of his moods,” Chloe said

  “He was kind to me last night and this morning until I asked about the rough scars on his back, then he turned on me.”

  “He’s a good master.”

  “Master?” Tess couldn’t believe she heard right. “You’re a slave?”

  “Not now. I used to be before the war. The Union army freed us from the plantations, then left us to fend for ourselves.”

  “You don’t mind servicing all the men who come here?”

  “I don’t service the patrons, I’m here to see to the health of the women who work here and at The Black Garter. My first owner raped me so often and so brutally my insides are ruined.”

  Tess gave a shocked gasp, horrified at what had happened to this woman. How could she talk about it so freely without sounding bitter?

  “Nathan hired me for my knowledge of potions and herbal remedies. I keep the women healthy and able to work, no monthly flow means they can’t be impregnated.”

  “Is that the white mixture he made me drink before breakfast?”