Free WildOutlaws by Destiny Blaine

recalled thinking he probably led a group of renegades. Then, she’d seen Creed enter the room and he’d stood out as leader. That is, until she met Tuff.
    “Is Tuff your boss?”
    He chuckled. “No.”
    “What about Creed?”
    “I’d follow him about as far as an outhouse.”
    “Who do you work for?”
    “Myself and whoever hires me and the fellas.”
    “Don’t you ever get tired of the killing?”
    He released her hand. A blank expression washed over his face. “We need to get back.” It was all he said before he stepped away.
    “No,” Mary Margaret said, sliding away from her saddle and landing right in front of him. “This is not how you get along with a woman. You don’t avoid the difficult questions in hopes she won’t ask them again. You don’t dismiss her when she wants to know something you find too tough to explain. Women can be great companions. They can be your greatest strength but only if you’re smart enough to let one in. Are you?”
    David took a deep breath. He leaned over and gently stroked her cheek. “They can also be a man’s greatest weakness.”
    “Don’t avoid the question. Women can’t stand it when a man believes he can change the subject and all will be forgotten.” A beat later, she asked, “Are you, David? Are you capable of letting a woman into your life?”
    “You tell me.”
    “I think you are,” she said forcing a smile. Turning back to her mount, she lifted her knee and awaited a leg-up. Instead of offering assistance, David clasped her forearm and forced her to face him.
    “I get tired of the killing. I’m tired of hunting humans, tracking other people like a bloodhound but it’s what I do. I make out all right with my choices because I’m standing on the right side of the law. I don’t take a job when there’s doubt about a man’s innocence. If there isn’t an eye witness or a trail of crimes, I don’t collect a bounty because I don’t look for the man who assures I’m paid if he’s caught.”
    “Do you sleep at night?”
    “I could ask you the same thing.”
    “I don’t,” she confessed. “Sometimes after the deed is over, a man will tell me about his wife and children. It’s the kind of conversation another woman doesn’t want to hear, even though women in town might think otherwise. I don’t take pleasure in knowing one man goes from my bed straight home to a wife believing he remains true to his vows. If I know beforehand, I don’t service him.”
    “Is that the truth?” he asked, narrowing his gaze.
    “Yes, David. It is. But it wasn’t always.”
    “And that’s why you can’t sleep at night?”
    “No, I don’t rest because I know what I am. The money you earn has blood on it. The money in my pocket is tainted as well.”
    He nodded slightly. Then he surprised her by asking for permission she’d never granted before as a whore. “Would you mind if I kissed you again?”
    She moistened her lips. “I’d be honored, Mr. Manson.”
    “If you call me Mr. Manson again, I may have to spank you.”
    She shrugged her right shoulder. “You never know I might like it.”
    “I think you would.”
    “I think you’re right,” she said, waiting for him to take the lead.
    David placed the palms of his hands on either side of her face. He drew her to him, dropping the sweetest and lightest pecks on her lips before devouring her mouth like a hungry man in search of a satisfying kiss with a promise of much more.
    His tongue slid across hers, back and forth, as he made love to her mouth like she longed to feel him making love to her body. And since when had she thought of sex as making love? She wondered if she’d ever considered the act as anything more than hardcore fucking and frolicking.
    The kiss turned spicy. The passion kicked up a notch. Still, he kept them separated by the way he held her face. His lips skimmed across hers and he kissed her cheek and ear, his lips gliding down her neck before he growled and stopped himself