She’d been wanting to kiss him ever since she caught him watching her upstairs with that look in his eyes. A look like that did things to a woman, made her feel like doing naughty things. Which probably explained why more than one of her cousins had skipped happily down a dangerous path.

“Uh, sweetheart,” Sam managed to mumble around her fervent kisses.

Julia grinned, moving her arms to circle around her husband’s back and pressing herself against him. “You don’t really want to talk right now, do you?” she said with a sultry hum in her voice.

“No, ma’am.” Sam surged into her, wrapping his arms around her and slanting his mouth over hers.

Julia giggled at the heated sensation of his hand reaching for her backside and lifting her up to her toes and against the evidence of the effect she had on him. That side of married life had been a delightful revelation to her. She loved how readily and physically Sam responded to her. She was beginning to learn what sort of things, what sort of touches he liked too, and she slipped one hand down below his waist to cradle the firm muscle of his backside.

Sam growled in appreciation, teasing and nibbling her lips. He backed her slowly toward their bed.

All at once, there was a distant thump from the main room of the saloon. Julia sucked in a breath as Sam stopped and lifted his head.

“Your friends are still here,” he said.

“Yes, but they’re out there,” she reasoned.

Sam’s lips—already tinged red from kissing—twitched, and his eyes danced with arousal. “You sure you want to do this with your friends right out there?”

A thrill of excitement at the prospect of making love when someone might interrupt them swirled through her. It was reckless and irrational, but that didn’t stop the idea from causing the delicious ache her young marriage had made her familiar with from spreading through certain parts of her.

“Maybe if we’re quick,” she whispered, sending Sam a coy, wanton look.

The fire in Sam’s eyes flared. He resumed backing her toward the bed, his hands closing around her waist. “Good thing I know a couple ways to make it quick.”

Julia laughed low in her throat, pulsing with need. “According to what my Cousin Roberta once told me, you shouldn’t be too proud of that.”

Her legs bumped against the side of the bed just as a tempting, wolfish smile spread across Sam’s face. “You can tell your Cousin Roberta that there’s a time to do it slow and lazy, and there’s a time to do it hot and fast.”

Prickles broke out along Julia’s arms and legs at the thought, and the womanly parts of her pulsed even harder with need for him. His words and the light in his eyes alone had her worked up to the point where she would do whatever he needed her to and enjoy it just as much as if they had all night to spend together. She barely even registered the second thump coming from the main part of the saloon.

Neither did Sam. His eyes and ears were only for Julia. But rather than lifting Julia and laying her across the bed, he pivoted to press her back against the wardrobe.

“Sam,” she said in a tremulous voice. “I don’t think this is the way you’re supposed to do it.”

“Just you wait, sweetheart,” he answered, then pressed into her for a kiss.

There was something exciting and unnerving in the best possible way about being caught between her husband’s strong, solid body and the ungiving surface of the wardrobe behind her, especially when Sam reached for her apron ties at her back. He made quick work of those, letting the apron drop, then tugged her blouse out of the waist of her skirt. All the while, she kept trying to kiss him and wrap her arms around his shoulders. She did manage to coax him into a few, fleeting kisses, but he shrugged her arms off as he unbuttoned her blouse.

She finally gave up and let him do what he wanted, which involved sliding her blouse off her shoulders and tugging it halfway down her arms. The result was that her arms were trapped by her side as he undid the hooks of her corset and spread that wide to free her breasts. She had no argument at all with the titillating sensation of being partially restrained as he scooped her breasts out of the top of her chemise, then lowered his head to close his mouth over one.

She sighed loudly as his hot mouth suckled her, his tongue teasing her nipple into a hard point, while his hand squeezed her other breast. Between his thumb rolling that nipple to a knot and his mouth working the other, her body filled so suddenly with pleasure that she thought her knees might give out. The rush of heat between her legs as Sam teased and fondled her grew so potent that she couldn’t stop herself from vocalizing how much she enjoyed it.

“You’re so lovely,” Sam told her, his voice thick with desire. “I could kiss you all day.”

All Julia could say as he switched to draw her other breast into his mouth and lightly pinch the nipple his tongue had just left was, “Yes.”

He laughed, the vibrations sending her even deeper into a haze of need. She pressed her head back against the wardrobe and closed her eyes so that she could just feel the delicious things he was doing to her. And she wanted him to do so much more.

He pulled back, closing his hands around both of her breasts, and when she opened her eyes a slit to peek, she found him simply looking at her.

“How did I get so lucky?” he growled.

She opened her eyes wider with a questioning look, even as her womanly parts throbbed with need for him.

“I mean this as the highest compliment,” he went on, answering her unspoken question in a low, liquid voice, “but you’re as sensual as any of Bonnie’s girls.” He glanced up from her breasts and met her eyes. “I like that.”

She had no idea how to respond or to give words to her quickened pulse or the fierce ache within her. The only thing her hazy mind could come up with was, “I want you.”

That was enough. With a victorious grin, Sam pulled her away from the wardrobe and into his arms. Her blouse dropped to the floor, giving her the ability to touch him and stroke her fingers across his strong arms at last. His mouth covered hers and her breasts flattened against his firm chest, arousing her even more.

And then he surprised her by turning her in his arms to face away from him. He rained a few kissed down her neck and across her shoulder. His hands covered her breasts, kneading and pinching, but only for a moment. All too quickly, they disappeared entirely. She heard the rustle of fabric, the slip of his suspenders dropping to his sides, then a sigh from Sam that was half relief and half urgency. After that, he reached for the hem of her skirt.

Another thrilling shock hit her as he not only pulled the back of her skirt up, but he also nudged her to lean forward. Grateful that her arms were now free, she caught herself on the coverlet just as he rolled her skirt onto her back. She sucked in a breath as he nudged her feet apart and tilted her hips up to him. She had a split-second realization of what he was doing before he parted the fabric of her split-drawers and eased inside of her.

“Oh,” she gasped, tightening instinctively and with glorious results as he filled and stretched her. “Oh, my!” She’d never imagined anything like that was possible, but not only was it possible, it was heavenly.

She rested her head against the coverlet, fists grabbing hold, and angled her hips up to him even more as he drew back and pressed into her again, over and over. As soon as he found his rhythm, his thrusts became deeper, harder, more insistent, and she cried out in bliss at every one of them. It felt so perfect to be taken by him that way that not only did her cries become more desperate, the aching knot of pleasure in her core grew and grew, tightening and coiling faster than it ever had until bursting in a flare of pleasure that took her breath away.

The sounds Sam made became louder and more insistent too as waves of pleasure rocked her, until he let out a strangled cry and buried himself deep inside of her. After that shattering moment, they both slowed and loosened, the aftershocks of pleasure leaving Julia limp and joyful.

At last, Sam withdrew from her, gently lowering her skirt, and pivoted to sag onto the bed. Julia turned and sank with him on her back, reaching for his hand and twining her fingers with his. Her gaze shot straight to the still open front of his trousers and the slick and shining part of him that had just been inside of her. She was too sated to do anything but grin in admiration, gloating to herself that her husband was the finest specimen of a man she had ever known.

“I love you, Sam Standish,” she said, rolling to her side to face him.

Sam turned his head to stare at her with wide eyes, a proud smile growing on his lips. “I think I—”

He didn’t have time to finish. A loud crash sounded from the main part of the saloon, different than the thumps they had been hearing. This crash was almost certainly a door being thrown open, as was confirmed by the shout that followed. Julia didn’t recognize the voice and couldn’t quite make out the words, but she recognized Bebe’s scream and Hubert’s shouted response.

Everything else was answered by Sam’s gasp of, “Rex.”

He shot to his feet, pulling his trousers up and fastening them as quickly as he could. His face was red, but as he pulled his suspenders up, and as Julia jumped to her feet and fumbled to fasten her corset and put herself to rights, Sam looked as angry as he did exhausted from loving. He was quicker to look presentable than she was and marched out of the room as Julia scrambled to dress.

It took her a minute or so to make sure she looked presentable, but by the time she smoothed out her skirt, retied her apron, and rushed out to the main part of the saloon, the confrontation between Rex Bonneville, Bebe and Hubert, and Sam was already in full swing.

“And this kind of irresponsible behavior on your part is inexcusable,” Rex was hollering at Sam.

Julia reeled back as soon as she entered the room. Anger overcame her shock at Rex’s statement, though, and she charged forward again, face set in a deep frown. “How dare you speak to my husband that way?”

Rex had opened his mouth and raised his hand to rail on, but stopped as if someone had slapped him. “Who are you?”

“Papa, this is Julia.” Bebe rushed to her father’s side, but instead of being as fierce as Julia, her face was red and tear-stained. “S-she’s the one I told you about, my new friend.”

Rex shifted his fury from Sam to Julia. “You’re the one responsible for giving my daughter disobedient ideas?”

The intensity of his outrage was enough to turn Julia’s stomach into a quivering pool of nerves, but she couldn’t let herself be intimidated. Not when her friend and her husband were under attack.

“I’m Bebe’s friend,” she said standing as straight and tall as she could manage under Rex’s glare.

She nearly shrank back when Rex bellowed, “You’re no friend of hers if you are encouraging her to throw her life away with this piece of filth.” He threw out his hand toward Hubert without looking at the young man.

Hubert was already bristling, but managed to turn a deeper shade of red. His hands were balled into fists at his sides. “With all due respect,” he began.

“I have no respect for you.” Rex whipped toward him. “I’ve warned you to stay away from my daughter too many times before. You aren’t worthy of her. You aren’t worthy to lick the ground she walks on. And if you persist in making a nuisance of yourself, you will pay for it.”

“How dare you?” Julia gasped. It was beyond belief to her that anyone could be so disrespectful, let alone to such a promising young man as Hubert. She surged forward, ready to stand toe-to-toe with Rex and bully him into submission if she needed to.

Instead, Sam caught her by the wrist and held her back. She stumbled as her forward momentum was stopped and she was forced to step back to Sam’s side.

“There will be no fighting here,” Sam declared. He glanced briefly to Julia, but kept most of his focus on Rex. “This saloon is a public place. Anyone has a right to be here, whether that’s Hubert or your daughter, or the King of Siam, for all I care.”

“So you defy my orders?” Rex glowered, first at Hubert, then at Sam.

“Your orders don’t extend to me,” Sam said.

“They do,” Rex insisted. “And I order you not to give any sort of harbor to my daughter or this man. In fact, if you so much as serve this upstart whelp ever again, I’ll make you pay for it.”

Sam’s eyes filled with indignation, and his back went straight. Julia felt an odd rush of pride mingled with abject fear that left her trembling.

“You can’t make laws telling me who is and who isn’t allowed in my place of business,” Sam said, his voice barely more than a snarl. “You’re not the law in these parts.”

“I may not be the law, but money talks,” Rex said. “And if you continue to let this man darken your doorstep, I’ll make sure that everyone within my influence never darkens your door either.”

“And where will they go to spend their free time then?” Julia spoke up, still feeling the need to fight for Sam, no matter how terrible Rex was. “This is the only saloon in town.”

Rex sneered at her, then at Sam. “You forget. I own the building directly across the street from you. Sure, it’s been empty ever since I kicked Bonnie out, but that could change within a matter of days.”

“What?” Julia furrowed her brow in confusion, but Sam seemed to know exactly what the man was talking about. He went from being red faced to just pale enough to see that Rex’s threat hit home.

“You know as well as I do that I could open an establishment with every manner of drink and entertainment,” Rex went on, the look he gave Sam menacing. “And you know that there aren’t enough customers in this area to keep both of us in business. Furthermore, you know that I have more capital to draw from, and if it came down to your resources versus mine, you’d be out of business in a month.”

“Papa, you wouldn’t,” Bebe gasped. “These people are my friends. They were just trying to help me.”

“Against my wishes.” Rex whirled on Bebe. “Just as you have been disobeying my wishes all this time, like the ungrateful harlot you are.”

“Now just a minute.” Hubert rushed to Bebe’s defense, even as Julia gasped in shock at the harshness of her father’s insult. “You will not speak to my sweetheart like that.”

“She is not your sweetheart,” Rex shouted. “She is not your anything. And if you know what’s best for you, you’ll shut your mouth and walk out of here right now.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Hubert said, teeth clenched.

“No?” Rex growled. He grabbed Bebe’s wrist so hard that she yelped. “Then we are.”

Before Julia could do more than blink in shock, tears stinging at her eyes, Rex turned and yanked Bebe toward the door.

“No, Papa, no,” Bebe yelled. “I love Hubert. I love him. And Julia is my friend.”

Rex froze, and for one glorious second, Julia thought he might relent.

Instead, he shook Bebe and said, “I forbid you to have anything to do with that little troublemaker ever again.”

“No,” Julia gasped.

“I won’t have you speaking of my wife like that,” Sam defended her, taking a few steps toward Rex.

“I will speak of whomever I like however I like,” Rex said, eyes wide, as if he were surprised anyone would contradict him. “And if you value your life as you know it, you’ll keep her in line.”

“You can’t—” Sam began.

“How dare you—” Hubert started forward at the same time.

Rex ignored both of them, tugging Bebe to the door. It didn’t matter how much she wept and wailed and called for Hubert, it didn’t matter how much Sam or Hubert protested or tried to stop him, Rex marched on, pulling Bebe with him. He reached the door and threw it open until it banged against the wall like a gunshot, then yanked Bebe out into the glaring afternoon sun.

“No, Papa, no,” Bebe shouted, but her pleas went unheeded.

“Bebe,” Hubert called after her, but as he reached the boardwalk, Sam caught him and pulled him back.

“There’s nothing you can do, son. Her father has her.”