Page 34 of The Bastard Heir (The Gilded West #2)

Chapter Fifteen

C astillo got up early the next morning and stayed out all day riding the property from one end to the other. The wedding was coming up and Castillo was worried Derringer was planning something for that day. Though the man must’ve taken a hit the day before by losing so many men along with his son.

Castillo tried to feel a sense of victory over that, but all he felt was hollow. The lives lost were senseless. Derringer was the only man Castillo wanted to bring to justice for what he’d done.

The sun was low on the horizon, slowly making its way down past the mountains.

Beautiful rays of pink and orange painted the land and sky.

Normally Castillo would take a moment to appreciate the beauty, but he was too busy appreciating the beauty of the woman on the balcony.

She stood next to the railing, her head resting against a post as she gazed out into the distance, looking east, away from the sunset.

He wondered if she was looking for him. His heart thumped harder.

Last night was vivid in his mind. He could still smell her on his skin.

Every time he’d closed his eyes that day, he’d seen her splayed out before him.

Her skin pink against the white sheets as she whispered his name and dug her fingers into his hair.

He laughed because he was dead tired and already rigid with wanting her again.

He wanted to go to her and pull her into his arms, to hear her tell him that everything was going to be all right as she curled herself around him.

They’d go to sleep and he’d keep her in bed all morning the next day.

Being with her made him feel like everything could work out.

She made him feel as if there was a dawn at the end of this long stretch of night he’d been going through.

There were enough guests now that he could hear the din of their conversation from across the yard.

He’d planned to go in through the back, since he was a bit dusty from riding and needed to change his clothes.

But they’d already come out for the sunset, indicating that he’d probably missed supper.

He was too tired to care and his arm ached.

He’d go into the kitchen and find something left over.

Carolina was on the opposite side of the house from everyone, as if she’d come out from her room to look for him.

He moved across the yard from the stables, hoping that he wouldn’t draw any attention as he skirted the edge of the house and took the stairs leading up to the second floor balcony.

His boots were quiet on the wood floor as he made his way to her.

Somewhere about halfway across the veranda, he caught a hint of her lavender scent.

He wanted to wrap himself in that scent.

“Carolina,” he said when he was close enough that he was certain the people downstairs wouldn’t hear him.

She stiffened but melted into him when he put his arms around her.

He had meant to wait, to stand there and talk to her, but as soon as he came close his hands reached for her and he pulled her back against him.

“Castillo,” she whispered and turned her face up to him.

His fingers cupped her cheek as he leaned down to kiss her without bothering to look to see if anyone else was watching them.

When he was with her, she was all he saw.

It was as if he was sucked in by her flare for life, as if he only woke up when she was near.

Her taste was so familiar to him now, he craved it as he drank from her lips.

Clenching her fingers in his hair, she moaned a little, deep in her throat, as she opened to him.

After a moment he pulled back enough to take a breath and stare down into her pale blue eyes.

“I missed you.” It was the most honest thing he’d ever said to her.

There was no skirting the truth or leaving anything out.

He’d missed her every moment that he’d been away, starting with the moment he’d left her bed that morning.

She smiled and, though the light was faint, he noticed a blush staining her cheeks. “I missed you, too.”

He kissed her again and then dragged his mouth over her cheek to her neck, unable to get enough of her.

He raked his teeth across the sensitive skin below her earlobe, smiling when she gasped.

He wanted to touch her all over and find every single place that made that sound fall from her lips.

There was something alluring about her strength and independence, and the way he could make her beg with her need for him. And he needed her, too.

Need. How had that happened so quickly? Last week he’d been empty, but now he was filled with her warmth and craved even more of it.

He wanted to hold her, to protect her and bask in the heat of her intensity.

She was brave and intelligent, and possessed a fierce curiosity.

All his life he’d imagined he wanted someone soft, demure and biddable.

She was everything he never knew he wanted in a woman, and he couldn’t get enough of her.

He kissed down her neck, breathing in her scent as he tasted her with the tip of his tongue. She was perfect. She leaned into him and he folded his arm around her, unable to resist touching her more and closing his hand around her breast. Her hand covered his to hold it there.

“I can’t understand this.” She didn’t elaborate, but he knew she meant this pull between them.

He didn’t understand it, either, but it didn’t matter.

It was there and he simply wanted to savor it and whatever time they had together.

He was a danger to her, but surely risking this little bit of time together wouldn’t hurt much, as long as he didn’t take more.

She curled the fingers of her other hand tighter in his hair, and pulled a little, sending a shiver of pleasure down his spine.

He was hard against her already and wondering how he’d ever get through the next days of her presence without taking her innocence.

If she asked him right now he’d take her into her room and this time he’d let her use her mouth or whatever else she wanted on him.

Finding her puckered nipple through the fabric of her dress and undergarments, he circled it with his thumb.

She sighed and pulled his mouth to hers for another kiss.

Her tongue stroked his as she took control of the kiss this time.

He could only imagine how exciting getting her in bed would be.

She was too strong-willed to allow him to take the lead the entire time and he loved that.

“Caroline?” Prudence called to her from somewhere inside the house, probably the hallway outside her bedroom door.

Castillo jerked his head up, aware for the first time of how far he’d allowed things to progress with the voices of the guests not very far away.

His heart pounded as he realized what getting caught could mean for her.

While a very large part of him wanted everyone to know that she was his, the rational part of him knew that she wasn’t and that she could never be.

She belonged in another life, far away from him and his sins.

It took every bit of the strength of will he possessed to let her go, but he dropped his hand and stepped away.

She whirled to face him, and her eyes were wide in panic. Her expression surprised him, so he paused. “I need to talk to you. Something’s happened,” she said. There was a metallic click from her room, as if the door had been opened and it drew her attention.

He wanted to take her in his arms and make that look go away. His mind raced with a million different things that could’ve occurred while he was gone. “What’s happened?”

“Caroline!” Prudence’s voice was louder this time, coming from inside the bedroom.

Carolina shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “Go. Just go. We can talk later.”

Castillo grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in to place a quick kiss on her forehead before rushing to his room. It’d be best, in his current state, if Prudence didn’t find him with her.

***

Castillo bathed and dressed quickly, anxious to find Carolina again and figure out what was wrong.

He took a moment to wolf down a cold plate of leftovers in the kitchen before setting out to find her.

Everyone had returned to the salon, and the usual evening activities of music and conversation after dinner, so he had no choice but to join them to talk to her.

His gaze found her as soon as he stepped inside the room.

She was talking to Emmy and smiling, but when she saw him he could tell that it didn’t reach her eyes.

She almost looked anxious, just as she had last night.

What the hell was going on? Someone standing next to her shifted, blocking Castillo’s view momentarily.

It was a tall, thin man, a newcomer Castillo hadn’t met.

His hand cupped Carolina’s elbow possessively before moving over to settle on her back as he leaned in and murmured something near her ear.

It was a proprietary gesture that made jealousy flare to life in Castillo.

Carolina was his. He started to make his way over, but Tanner came between him and his adversary.

“Welcome home, son. I know you met him briefly last night, but I’d like to introduce you to Abner Cunningham.

He’s an old friend of mine from Boston and he’s been thinking of investing in some of our breeding stock.

” Tanner smiled, unaware that he’d intercepted Castillo, and indicated a man who appeared to be in his fifties.

Clenching his jaw, Castillo tried to force his heartbeat to return to a normal pace as he turned to greet him.

“Very good to meet you again.” The man gave him an easy smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Samuel stood on his other side and gave Castillo a nod, resuming the conversation about horse breeding Castillo had interrupted.