Page 28 of The Gilded Lady (The Gilded West #3)

He wasn’t one to brag, but he’d been in plenty of tough situations before.

There was the time they’d had a two-day shoot-out in that abandoned canyon outside of Denver with men intent on turning Castillo in for the reward money.

There was the man who Bennett Derringer had paid to kill him.

That son of a bitch had been ruthless, tracking the gang for weeks and nearly getting the better of Zane outside a saloon in Texas.

Then just last week he, Castillo, and Hunter had had the pleasure of facing Bennett down again.

Zane’s scar throbbed from the memory of staring him down for the last time.

There’d been satisfaction in seeing the man who’d given the scar to him get his comeuppance.

Just as there’d been satisfaction in killing Buck Derringer, the man responsible for the murder of Castillo’s grandfather.

A little bit of justice had been restored to his world.

He closed the distance between them, coming to a stop directly in front of her.

Maybe he was too close, but he couldn’t stop this need to feel her, to reassure them both that she was safe.

He wanted to help restore justice to her world, too.

“I’ve faced down my own ghosts. I can damn well destroy yours, too. ”

“He’s not like other men…he’s a monster.” She didn’t seem to mind the proximity. Her hazel eyes were wide and fearful as she stared up at him, but she didn’t move away.

Zane frowned. Her expression was so vulnerable, he knew that she meant what she said.

She was terrified, but he loved how she tilted her chin up and her eyes were fierce.

There was strength and determination beneath all that fear.

The backs of his fingers touched her jaw, and his thumb settled on her soft cheek to gently stroke over it.

Her skin felt like satin. She didn’t pull away.

In fact, she subtly turned into his touch.

Desire tightened in his belly, urging him to kiss her, needing to feel her against him, to reassure them both that they were safe. That they were together.

“He’s flesh and blood. He can be stopped just like any other man.” His voice held a rough edge.

The sudden weight of the conversation seemed to have sobered her a bit. Her eyes were clear, and though it was soft, her voice came out strong and distinct. “He’s capable of so much worse than any other man. You can’t even imagine. I saw it with my own eyes.”

What had she seen? He wanted to ask, to try to see it for himself, but he couldn’t ask her to dredge up those memories for him. It would be unfair.

“I’m sorry you saw that. I’m sorry you knew him.”

Closing the distance between them, her palms came to rest on his chest. Could she feel how hard his heart pounded? She turned into his palm and placed a soft kiss there. The contact sent heat lancing up his arm to settle low in his belly where it burned bright and hot.

Her lips trembled when she took a breath. “The Dubose estate was a horrible place. We used to hear stories as children.”

He barely breathed as he waited for her to continue, hungry for any scraps of her past that he could get.

“The people who worked for him…sometimes they’d disappear. He owned them as if they were slaves. The war had been over for years but that didn’t mean anything there.” Her eyes seemed unfocused, as if she was remembering.

Gently taking her by the arm, he led her to the sofa.

She slowly dropped down onto it and he sank down beside her.

As soon as he put his arm around her shoulders, she turned into him.

He closed his eyes as he held her close, tucking her against him.

Her rose scent mixed with the decadent aroma of brandy teased his nostrils, warning him of dark days to come if he gave in to her, but he was weak when it came to her.

She turned her face into his chest as he ran a soothing hand up and down her back.

“Did Able work there?” He had trouble imagining the strong and proud man he knew working for anyone like that. At this very minute, Able was downstairs making certain things ran smoothly to give her time to calm down.

She nodded against his chest without lifting her head up.

Something about that tore right through him.

He held her tighter, his palm sliding up her back to rest on the back of her head.

His fingers delved into her hair, touching that glorious silk for the first time.

It was smooth and thick beneath his fingertips and, despite his best intentions, he couldn’t help but wonder what it’d feel like wrapped around him.

He wanted to make her feel better, to take away her fear for a little while and give her a reason to forget everything.

But that’s not what she needed from him right now. He sensed that she wanted to talk more so he listened.

“Able went to work there a few years before I arrived. He hated it.” Her voice was bitter. “But the only way to leave was in a pine box.”

“How…” He squeezed his eyes shut, hating the thought of her being at that horrible place. The need to know was so strong that he couldn’t stop himself from asking the question, though he dreaded the answer. “How did you come to be at that place?”

She sniffed and he dipped his head, burying his nose in her hair.

“My family didn’t have much. We had a big house, and it had been nice once, but it was falling down around us.

Even before the war my family had been down on our luck.

My parents sold off the land until we barely had enough left to farm. ”

A sick premonition churned in his stomach.

He had a feeling he knew where this was headed, but he didn’t say anything.

She needed to talk, so he’d listen and she’d continue at her own pace.

Finally, she said, “I don’t know how it happened, but one day he was there at our home.

The next week my parents took me to the Dubose estate and that’s where I stayed. ”

The sound of Sally’s voice belting out an indistinct song from down in the ballroom wafted through the silence of the suite.

It was the only sound aside from the beating of his heart.

In that moment, he hated her parents almost as much as he hated Dubose.

How could they leave her with him knowing the horrible things he had done and what would happen to her?

“I was fourteen and I learned what it meant to belong to someone. The word ‘no’ meant nothing. We all belonged to him, everyone on the estate did.”

Goddamn. She’d only confirmed what he’d suspected, but somehow it was so much worse knowing rather than simply imagining that it might be true.

Rage burned him alive from the inside out.

Dubose was a coward and a monster, but he was also a man.

Zane wanted to make him bleed for every pain he’d ever caused her.

She pulled back enough to look up at him.

Her expression was wary, as if she didn’t know what to expect.

Did she think he’d think less of her? Her bottom lip trembled a little, but her eyes were still clear.

There were no tears and he wondered if she’d cried herself out years ago.

Tenderness swelled within him, momentarily tamping down the rage.

He wanted to tell her he was sorry, but it seemed inadequate and useless in the face of what she’d been through.

How did an apology convey the depth of his sorrow for her anyway?

Tipping her chin up, he slowly leaned down, giving her time to pull away. When she didn’t, he gently closed his lips over hers. She sighed into his mouth and relaxed into him, moving her lips against his. After a minute he pulled back to take a breath and pressed his forehead against hers.

“How long before you escaped?” He had to know how long she’d been forced to endure that madman.

“Almost two years.”

He squeezed his eyes closed so tight that he saw spots. To live in terror for so long was unthinkable to him. He couldn’t even fathom the courage it had taken to face it.

“Able lost his wife and child in childbirth, and I think it pushed him over the edge. He decided to risk escape rather than stay there any longer. I found him and begged him to take me with him. Thank God he agreed.”

He tightened the arm around her waist, pulling her as close as he could until there wasn’t a breath of space between them.

If he could have, he would’ve taken all her fear into himself.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine what horrors she’d both seen and experienced.

He didn’t even want to. Yet, he couldn’t seem to stop.

The images flashed through his mind anyway.

Tomorrow he’d thank Able himself for taking her away from that place. Somewhere at the edge of his consciousness were all the reasons he couldn’t stay with her, but they didn’t matter tonight. Tonight they were together and he wouldn’t think of the future. Nothing mattered but Glory.

Her small hand moved up his chest to curl around the nape of his neck and draw him back down to her.

This time her lips took his. It was a slow and tender kiss meant for comfort.

He took his time with her, letting his lips learn the shape of hers.

The tip of his tongue lightly traced along her bottom lip.

She opened wider for him and he delved inside, tasting her sweetness.

Much to his surprise, she deepened the kiss.

Her tongue chased his and she was nearly in his lap.

His blood had thickened, like honey sliding through his veins to settle in the pit of his stomach and even lower. Every fiber of his being wanted her. He was as hard as a rock and nearly throbbing for her when they parted enough to gasp for breath.