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Each time reminded her of how heartbroken her father would be if he knew what she’d become.

Hearing Fen say itwitha wealthofdistrust and disdain in his tonemadeher wonder.

Wouldhe ever consider her an equal partner?

Was it possible for a woman to win in this world?

She was determined to try, even if the answer to both questions was no.

“I’ve never given you a reason not to trust me, but since you have doubts, let me prove myself. I’ll manage the ladies for six months for half the take,”she boldly suggested.

“Half! Fuck that! After paying the whores their 20 percent, I’d be left with practically nothing.”

“Just the upstairs,”she clarified. “You get every cent from the bar, which we both know is where you’ll profit.”

“I’ll give you 25 percent,”he offered.

“Forty-five with a $100 minimum per night,”she countered.

“Twenty-five. No minimum. It’s my investment that will get us up and running and my money to lose. That is my final offer.”

She glared at him momentarily before returning his hurtful words with a slightly different slant. “I’m not letting a bastardrob me blind,no matter howbig his dick. Forget it.”

When she twisted to scramble off the bed, his arm came around her waist, stopping her. The next thing she knew, she was on her back with himontop ofher. He spread her legs with his knees, pinning her in place.

“You like my big dick,”he asserted in a husky voice, a twinkle of deviltry in his eyes.

Charlotte was in no mood for teasing. “Don’t flatter yourself,”she shot back. “You pay me to like it.”

“That may be, but you get off on it.”He rolled his hips and rubbed the length of his cock along the seam of her pussy. “Don’t lie and say you don’t. I’m not such a rube I can’t tell when a woman finds her pleasure.”

“Is there a point to this?”she asked, neither agreeing nor disputing his claim.

He chuckled. “You’re a brazen wench. I’ll give you the 40 percent, but I’m adding another condition.”

“And what is that, exactly?”

“I want to keep what we have—”

“You want Thursday nights?”

“No—”

“I’m not following.”

“Since we’ll live under the same roof, I want every night.”

“Fenton—”

A low growl of frustration rumbled out of him. “Good god, woman! Can I finish a sentence?”

“Sorry,”she said softly, lightly rubbing his chest to placate the beast. “Go on.”

“If, after a year, you’ve kept up your end of the deal with no headaches for me, and we’re making money, then I’ll make you a partner.”

Eyeing him as suspiciously as he had done her, she asked, “An equal partner?”

“I’ll give you a 30 percent cut of the take. If we do well, you profit. If we fail, you suffer along with me.”

“But you offered 40 a minute ago!”she protested.

His head dropped forward this time, but his growl, one of obvious impatience, was the same. “I’m talkinga percentage ofeverything.”

“The ladies andthe bar?”she stated to be certain what she was agreeing to.

“Everything would includethe ladies andthe bar, wouldn’t it? Although, if you become a partner, there won’t be a minimum. We share the risk. If I don’t eat, neither do you.”

Shebit herlip. It wasn’t all she hoped for, but if she worked hard, in a year, she would own something of value. “One other thing.”

His head came up, and he glared down at her through narrowed eyes. “You’re pushing it, Charlotte.”

She was. And he was passing the point of impatience headlong on his way to annoyed. At least he got her name right.

“This won’t cost you anything. I promise. It’s just… I’ve had the rug pulled out from under me so many times and lost everything. I want the option to buy you out if you decide to move on. And I inherit it all if something happens to you.”

“Like if I get sick?”he asked.

“Like if you get dead,”she bluntly clarified. “You’ve mentioned it’s a rough place in the untamed frontier several times. Anything could happen.”

An instant later, he declared, “If I’m six feet under, why the fuck would I care?”

“Exactly. Do we have a deal?”

“We have a deal,”he agreed.

A rare grin nearly split her face. “When do we leave?”

“You’ll need time to prepare, so Monday is too soon, I suppose. The first of the month should do.”

She framed his face with her hands and told him earnestly, “You won’t regret this, Fen. Thank you.”

Her father wanted more for her as he oversaw her studies, his dreams for her far loftier—to become a judge or the first female senator.

He’d mentioned the presidency once then reined in his pie-in-the-sky notions.

Never had brothel madam or frontier-town saloon owner passed his lips, but she pushed her disappointment aside for now and celebrated, at long last, getting off her back.

“Should we shake on it?”she asked, staring up into his handsome face.

“Partners like us don’t seal bargains with a handshake, Lottie.”

“Charlotte,” she quickly corrected.

“You mean Madam Charlotte, don’t you?”Dipping his head, he took a nipple between his lips and sucked hard.

He released the stiff peak with a loud smack before he moved to the other breast and gave it the same treatment.

“I think I need to add something else to the contract. As folks in the flesh-peddling business, we should honor our deal with a celebratory fuck.”

“Partner to partner?”

“In a year,”he reminded her.

“I agree to everything except—”

“Good god!”he roared. “What now?”

“Any upstairs girls who work for me get 30 percent, no less, and that’s nonnegotiable, or we have no deal.”

“Fine. By getting free pussy from you, I’ll be saving a hundred bucks a week.

”He flipped onto his back, and his hands encircled her waist. Lifting her until she straddled him, he brought her down as he thrust upward.

He sat up, arms surrounding her as he buried his face in her breasts.

“I’d have paid ten times as much for it, so I’ll consider it a win. ”

“That’s one thousand dollars! You’ve been undercutting me all this time. Who’s been robbing who blind, Mr. Sneed?”

“For crying out loud, woman. We’re going to make a killing as the best damn saloon and brothel in Laramie. Hell, in the whole territory. So, quit yer squabbling over a few bucks and fuck me.”

He leaned back, propped on his elbows, and watched as she rode him, arms raised, lifting her hair so he could see all he had bargained for.

He enjoyed the show for about ten seconds then flipped her, driving into her hard.

Charlotte wound her limbs around him, digging her heels into his backside, urging him onward.

Fen was right. He did indeed have an impressively proportioned cock, but that’s not why she beamedat the ceilingas he brought them both off.

Her smile was for the distinctive scent that surrounded him.

Not his cologne, the spicy aroma of tobacco, or the sweet yet pungent bourbon he favored.

It was the irresistible smell of freedom, which, tonight, was the greatest aphrodisiac in the world.