Free Gunslinger by Connie Mason

tins of canned fruit would make your hands mighty happy.”
    “Is that all?”
    “I’m partial to peppermint sticks.”
    “I’ll see what I can do,” Chloe said dryly. “Thank you.”
    “Anything else you want to know?”
    Chloe regarded him warily. Oh, yes, there were many things she wanted to know about the mysterious Desperado Jones. Curiosity bubbled up inside her and she blurted out, “What is your real name?”
    “Among the Apache I am known as Fast Hand.”
    Chloe smiled despite herself. The name fit him. “I mean your real name. Is it something you’re ashamed of?”
    He gave her a withering look but Chloe remained undaunted. “Are you wanted by the law under your real name?”
    “I’m not a wanted man by any name,” Desperado rasped.
    “Then why won’t you tell me?”
    “Why are you interested?” he shot back.
    “Curiosity. Why did you decide to become a gunslinger?”
    “Nosy today, aren’t you? Very well, I’ll tell you that much. I decided to hire out my gun because it was what I did best. I’d just left the Apache village, with nothing to my name but my horse and my guns. I’d learned many useful skills from the Apache and decided to use them to earn my keep. I kind of fell into my first job, and the others came easy once my reputation as a fast gun grew. There, are you satisfied?”
    “Was your mother or father Indian?” Chloe asked, eager to know more about the mysterious Desperado Jones. Her appetite for information had just been whetted.
    “My mother. She died when I was nine.”
    “Are you originally from this area? What is your real—”
    “I’ve said all I’m going to,” Desperado rasped, putting an end to her questions but not to her curiosity. There was so much more she wanted to know.
    “If you’re finished with me, I promised the boys I’d help with the branding. With any luck, the branding will be completed today.”
    For some reason Chloe couldn’t turn her gaze away from his lips. She remember his kiss and how hard his lips had felt and how they had softened as he deepened the kiss. She licked her own lips, as if his taste still lingered. She had no idea she was staring until she heard Desperado chuckle.
    “See anything you like, honey?” His sexy whisper sent chills racing down her spine. No man had ever caused that kind of reaction in her before. Flushing, she looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring at him.
    His question still hung in the air between them, heavy and potent. She chose to ignore it. “I’m sorry, I just thought of something I have to do. Thanks, you’ve answered all my questions.” She whirled on her heel and strode away, all too aware of Desperado’s dark gaze following her.
    Later that day she happened to walk by the branding pen and saw Desperado wielding the branding iron with amazing dexterity. June had burst upon the land, bringing sunshine and hot weather with it. Due to the heat, she supposed, Desperado had stripped to the waist. His skin was shiny with sweat, and Chloe stopped in her tracks, struck dumb by the sight of smooth dark skin stretched taut over sleek muscles. He was so blatantly male she had to turn her eyes away.
    “That’s the last of them, Miss Chloe,” Cory called as the last cow in the pen bawled out his displeasure.
    “Good work,” Chloe returned, carefully averting her eyes from Desperado’s glistening bare flesh. “I’m going to town now to buy extra provisions for the drive. Check your gear with Mr. Jones. If you’re lacking anything, you can purchase whatever you need in town tomorrow.”
    “Does that mean we’ll be leaving soon?” Rowdy asked excitedly. “Hot damn, I can hardly wait!”
    “About a week into the drive you’ll be wishing you were back here tucked safely in your bunk,” Desperado said dryly. “It’s damn hard work.”
    “Thank you for your words of encouragement,” Chloe said with asperity. “We’ll be heading out day after tomorrow,” she continued. “There’s