Beautiful Bounty Read online

  Beautiful Bounty

  Maggie Casper

  Kitty fell in love with a preacher man, or so she’d thought. Finding out the man she had a scorching relationship with was really a bounty hunter hurts. When he hightailed it out of town, Kitty couldn’t really blame him. She’s a bought-and-paid-for whore, not exactly marriageable material in the wild West.

  Conagher knows he has to work to win Kitty back. Hardheaded as they come, his woman wants nothing to do with him. If it comes down to tying her up in order to get her to listen, he’ll do just that—and a lot more. This bounty hunter will get his woman, in every erotic way imaginable.

  A Romantica® western erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

  Beautiful Bounty

  Maggie Casper

  Chapter One

  October 12, 1867

  He said he would come back. He didn’t. What is worse is I’ve sat here for well over a year waiting like a love-struck ninny. I have trouble tolerating the look of my own face, the jagged scar left behind by a no-good man’s knife, so I can’t blame him for feeling the same. I just wish he had been cowboy enough to say so from the start.

  Kitty’s tears stained the page, leaving some of it smudged and unreadable. Some days were harder than others and today happened to be one of the ones she was going to struggle through. She tried really hard not to feel sorry for herself.

  When she stopped feeling sorry for herself long enough it was easy to see exactly how blessed she truly was. Sure she might not have her looks any longer, but she had many other things including a warm and dry place to sleep and plenty of food on her plate every day. There was a time where she couldn’t have boasted either. Little good her peaches-and-cream complexion and cute little dimples had done her then.

  Being born to a drunkard of a father and a mother addicted to laudanum had only set the stage. Her father’s death by hanging after stealing a neighbor’s horse hadn’t made things any easier, but neither had her looks. By the time she’d been thirteen years old men had come sniffing around. After a roll in the hay with the same neighbor’s son, and being caught red-handed, or bare-bottomed as the case had been, Kitty’s mom had turned her out, claiming she’d never raise a whore of a daughter.

  With too much attitude and not enough brains, Kitty had decided in that instant to prove her mother wrong. She’d slept her way across the prairie and in a short amount of time had come to love the touch of a man, even if she had never actually loved the men themselves. By the time she’d made it to Carson City and wandered into Penelope’s Pleasure Emporium she’d been on her own for three years, and by the age of sixteen had become one of the most popular girls in the brothel.

  Most of all these days though she felt lucky to have the know-how to write her thoughts down on paper. She remembered fondly all the hours Penelope, the original owner of Penelope’s Pleasure Emporium where she’d worked, had spent teaching Kitty her letters and how to form them into words so she could read and write as well as any highborn person. If she didn’t have those capabilities now Kitty thought there was a good chance she’d lose her mind.

  Friendship based on pity is a hard pill to swallow.

  She finished her diary entry for the day with a single sentence and yet one that was so poignant. She wondered if she’d really fallen in love with the preacher who turned out not to be a preacher at all or had she just been grateful for the conversation from someone who could actually look her in the face without cringing. Pity stung like fire. The only way out of its burning depths was to pull herself up by her boot strings and stop feeling sorry for herself. As she curled into a ball and drifted off to sleep, Kitty decided that was exactly what she would do.

  Tomorrow.

  The next day dawned brightly and although Kitty smiled as she worked dusting furniture she didn’t feel quite as happy. She’d been living in the small ranch house since her recovery. It was a beautiful place and she felt extremely blessed to have such a nice roof over her head, but it was not her place. After waking up from the raging fever and infection that had evidently almost taken her life, Penny and Will, co-owners of the brothel where she’d previously lived and worked, had informed her they would be getting married and would love for her to move out to the ranch with them in order to help Penny around the house.

  It wasn’t as if Kitty had much of a choice, but she’d been grateful nonetheless. Now though, for the first time in her life, she wished for her own space, her own kitchen to cook in, her own desk to swipe the dust from. God forgive her, but Kitty also wished for love and her own husband. Then as Penny walked through the door, her skirts swishing around her pregnant stomach, Kitty realized she would also love to have a child all her own.

  Shaking her head to clear her addled brain, Kitty once again silently cursed Nelson Wilson, or whatever the man’s true name was. Before the preacher-turned-outlaw had paid her attention, Kitty had been perfectly happy being a whore. She’d actually enjoyed the interest men paid to her body. Being for sale, Kitty knew she would never have to worry about her heart or living the nightmare her mother had at the hands of a man who supposedly loved her.

  “Morning.”

  Penny was always so bright and happy it was hard not to share in her good mood. “Morning. How are you and the li’l one doing this morning?” Kitty was excited for the arrival of Will and Penny’s baby.

  “We’re doing well.” She cocked her head sideways slightly, staring at her in a way Kitty knew didn’t bode too well. “You’re having a rough day.”

  It wasn’t really a question but Kitty knew if she didn’t answer, Penny wouldn’t leave her alone for the rest of the day. “A little self-pity is all. I’m over it and today will be a good day.” She’d been telling herself that very thing every day for the last year. Some days it worked and other times it didn’t.

  Often times she got caught up in the darkness and confusion between what caused her the most problems, the fact that her once-pretty face was now a scarred mess or that the man she’d fallen in love with had not only lied to her about who he was, but had left town, breaking her heart in the process.

  Some days it was nearly too much to bear, but she did so anyway because to do otherwise would be admitting defeat and if there was one thing Kitty had never claimed to be it was a quitter. She would live her life the best she could and learn to enjoy it if it killed her. The thought made her smile.

  “Much better,” Penny murmured as she poured a glass of water from the pitcher sitting on the kitchen counter then took a seat at the table. “Come talk to me for a few minutes.”

  Kitty always enjoyed doing so, but there was something about her friend’s tone of voice that warned she may not like what the other woman had to say.

  “Okay.” Kitty dried her hands on the apron tied snugly around her waist, poured herself a glass of water then joined Penny, praying the whole time she could handle whatever was to come.

  “Construction is almost finished.”

  “Oh wonderful!”

  Kitty could only imagine how happy the news made Penny. Since they’d started construction on the new bunkhouse Will had been kept busy. Between the building, daily ranch work and Penelope’s Pleasure Emporium he hadn’t had much time to spend at home.

  “We’d like you to ride out and see it today.”

  Kitty couldn’t imagine for the life of her why they would want her to do such a thing. Confusion must have shown on her face even as she asked, “Is there something you needed input on?”

  The building wasn’t too far from the main house. Kitty had been able to see it grow as they built day after day, but it wasn’t close enough that she could see clearly every single aspect.

  “There is a lot we need your input on.” Penny reached across the tab
le then and laid a hand over the top of Kitty’s. It had been so long since anyone had touched her bare skin, the contact felt a bit jarring.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because it isn’t really a bunkhouse. It’s a cabin Will and the boys built for you.”

  Kitty jumped up from her chair. “Why would they do such a thing?” She whirled back around to face Penny. “Why would you do it?”

  “Sit down, sweetie.” Penny patted the table, gesturing for Kitty to return to her seat. “I knew you would throw a fit if we told you from the start, which is why we didn’t. There are a couple of reasons. One is because you have worked very hard here since Samson passed away, not only doing the cleaning but also taking over his job of cooking. The other is because we want you safe and close, but this place is going to get small once this little one gets here.”

  Well why hadn’t she thought of that, Kitty chided herself silently. Of course they were going to need the space she occupied. Kitty really wished she wasn’t such a burden to the family she’d grown to love as her own.

  “It’s too much, Penny.” And she meant it. It was by far too much money to spend, too much work and time spent for a whore-turned-housekeeper. She may have enjoyed the time she spent on her back, up until the end, but she was not at all unaware of what she was. Enjoying it probably made her even more of a whore than those who didn’t.

  “Nonsense.” Penny’s words were lost on Kitty as an idea came to mind.

  “Hold on a minute.” She got up from her seat and hurried from the room. Once to the bedroom she occupied, Kitty dug beneath the loose floorboard beneath her bed and came up with a tin she’d used to hold the money she’d saved over the years.

  When Kitty walked back into the kitchen, her tiny treasure trove in her hands, she handed it over to Penny. Her friend pried the top off the tin then looked up in shock. “Good Lord!”

  “I’ve saved mostly everything I made over the years.”

  When Penny closed the tin and handed it back, Kitty jerked her arms behind her back and shook her head. They had to take the money. No way could she be more beholden to them than she already was.

  Penny stepped forward. “The cabin is yours as long as you live here, Kitty. If you decide to move, Will can turn it into a bunkhouse or other outbuilding. It is an asset to the ranch either way.” She pressed the tin into Kitty’s stomach, forcing her to take it back. “You can use this to furnish the place to your liking if you wish.”

  Finally! A good idea. Kitty smiled blinking rapidly. “Thank you.” She couldn’t have gotten more words out even if she’d been able to think of them. Her heart knew more gratitude than ever before.

  Conagher Morrison rode his lathered horse through the streets of Virginia City with only one thought on his mind. He needed to find Kitty. Dismounting next to the hitching post in front of Penelope’s Pleasure Emporium, he was aware he looked completely different than he had the previous year during his time playing preacher to the town’s folk.

  It was amazing how much older he felt after only a year, but he sure did. Not only that but he had so much trail dust covering him Conagher felt as dirty as a flop-eared hound and probably didn’t smell much better.

  Living in the wild was rough business. He’d been away from polite company for so long he was a wee bit weary of how to act, but he wouldn’t allow it to stop him. There was no way he wasn’t going to see Kitty first chance he got. Oh how he’d missed her. Her soft skin, the scent of her hair after he’d brushed her hair, soothing away her fever and talking to her when she awoke. She had the voice of an angel, one he couldn’t wait to hear. The sound would be as a balm on his soul, soothing away the ache he held deep inside.

  If she’ll see you.

  The same damn voice had been taunting him since he’d upped and run off after the no-good murdering thief without so much as a goodbye to her.

  “She’ll see me if I have to hog-tie her long enough for her to hear what I have to say.” Conagher muttered the words, his voice edged with steel. Of course, then he had thoughts of Kitty bound to his bed, ready for whatever he wanted to dish out. Would she like a bit of rough play? As he made his way up the stairs and into the brothel he knew he’d go to any lengths to get her to listen to his reasoning. If after that Kitty decided she couldn’t look at him, then so be it. Or so he hoped. Conagher wasn’t sure he could actually let her go without crossing that bridge. He prayed silently it never came to such measures.

  He strode through the interior, blinking into the darkness. It was still fairly early in the day so the place was quiet. Movement from the far side of the room caught his attention and so he headed that direction.

  “Ma’am.” He tipped his hat then removed it completely.

  She squinted at him briefly before dawning understanding crossed her features. “Well I’ll be. Is that you, preacher man?”

  He’d probably burn in hell for the ruse he’d played, but at the time he’d have done anything to capture the man who’d murdered his sister. “I’m no preacher, but yes it is me, one and the same.” Conagher was just about to ask of Kitty when the woman before him, he thought her name to be Lorna, lifted a finger to his chest. Instead of a slow, sensual trek over the buttons of his shirt front, she poked him hard.

  “You listen up here, mister!” Her finger jabbed him with each and every word. “If you’ve come to cause more heartache for our poor Kitty, you can go right back out through those doors, climb on your horse and leave.”

  By the time she was finished with her tirade, Conagher was sure he was going to have one hell of a bruise. “The name’s Morrison, Conagher Morrison, ma’am and I have no intention of causing Kitty any more pain. I aim to make her mine.” He stated the fact without blinking, all the while gauging her reaction.

  When her face split into a wide grin, he sighed in relief. The finger that had been poking his chest now joined the others to pat his arm nicely. “Well why didn’t you say so, Mr. Morrison? Come on over here and sit down. I’ll get you a drink.”

  Conagher had absolutely no intention of wasting time in any manner, much less drinking. “Sorry, ma’am, I don’t imbibe.”

  “At all?” She seemed surprised.

  He nodded. “At all.”

  She gave him a good look over then, wrinkling her nose as her gaze followed the length of his trail-worn body. “How about bathing, you believe in washing with water?”

  He couldn’t help but chuckle at her spunk. “I sure do, but I needed to see Kitty more than I wanted to smell clean so I came here first.”

  Her weathered face seemed sad now. “Kitty ain’t here no more.”

  It felt as if his heart leapt into his throat. Surely they didn’t turn her out after what she’d been through! “Well where the hell is she?”

  “Now don’t go getting your knickers in a twist, cowboy. She’s healed real nice and is happy and healthy living outside of town at the Double L ranch with the bosses.”

  Relief washed over him at her words. “Thank you for your kindness, ma’am.” He put his hat back on his head. “I’ll reckon I’ll head out that way then.”

  “Go take a bath first, cowboy. Our Kitty deserves to have a good-smelling man court her after all she’s been through in her short life. And good luck to you.”

  Conagher was almost sure she mumbled how much he was going to need it as he strode back out onto the wood-planked sidewalk. Swallowing deeply and with a heavy heart, he mounted his horse and headed up the street to the nearest hotel even though everything in him screamed to ride hard and fast in order to collect what was his.

  After paying for a room and hiring a bath and shave, Conagher was at a loss. The sun had already set, so heading out of town wouldn’t be one of his best ideas. Not that he was afraid to travel at night, alone even. He’d been doing so most of his life for one reason or another. No, the problem came in how most people didn’t cotton to their sleep being disrupted for no good reason.

  Kitty is the best reason ever!
r />   The voice in his head, the one that made sure he’d always gotten what he wanted, nearly snarled the thought. However, Conagher didn’t know Will or Penny well enough to show up to their place so late.

  He ate supper seated with his back against the wall. Everything tasted like sawdust, but the food did exactly what it was supposed to do. It filled his belly.

  People were starting to stare and whisper behind their hands. He’d evidently been made out to be the man who’d duped them all into believing he was a preacher. It was definitely his cue to leave. He had no desire to explain himself to any of the town’s folk before he got the chance to speak with Kitty. By far she deserved an explanation from him before any of them did.

  After laying enough money on the table to cover his meal, Conagher left the restaurant for his room. Once there with the door closed firmly behind him, he unbuckled his gunbelt, removing the revolver from its holster to place on the bedside table. He took off his boots, but otherwise remained dressed as he settled himself, propped up on a too-soft feather pillow, against the brass headboard. Morning couldn’t come soon enough.

  His sleep was restless throughout the night. Each and every time he woke it was with hope in his heart that Kitty was sleeping soundly. She was going to need all the rest she could get, he thought with a slight shake of his head.

  While he longed for the day he could freely touch her, his worry over her sleep patterns had absolutely nothing to do with the fact he wanted to lift her skirts and see everything her voluptuous body had to offer. Thoughts of touching Kitty and tasting her had kept him awake many a night.

  The reason she was going to need sleep was because he could be a stubborn and trying man. That alone was bad enough, or so he’d been told often. Combine it with the fact she was nearly equally as stubborn and more than likely kicking herself for accepting the friendship of a man who appeared to be nothing more than a fraud and she would be even less inclined to listen to him.