"Good, then Banning it is."
***
We rode to Banning in silence, neither of us interested in speaking. What was there to say? We couldn't speak of the weather or ask after our families; both topics were obvious. We'd reached an impasse in the hotel room and I had no idea how to get past it. I was hoping time and a little distance from Zenith might help, but as the miles passed, it seemed not to be the case.
The town was larger than Zenith with a bustling economy due to being a stop on the train line. While still a distance from my ranch, my travels took me here frequently enough. It was my intention to pick up Miss Carter's trail here in town, track her down, arrest her and exact my revenge. Then I could settle into quiet ranch life with the reward money, but one last bounty, one last killer, stood in my way.
I'd had hours to formulate a plan and I hoped to visit the local saloons and brothels later in the evening to learn more about the woman. Fortunately, one of the people I intended to question later walked down the boardwalk and made my evening slightly easier. Or so I thought. Ethel Murbridge stopped us just down the block from the mercantile.
"Mr. Easton, it is delightful to make your acquaintance again," she replied sweetly.
Piper stiffened beside me as she took in the other woman. Ethel smiled and looked Piper over as if assessing a competitor. Ethel was the complete antithesis of my wife, with a lush figure and hair as black as night. While Piper's hair seemed to curl, Ethel's was sleek and straight. Piper offered no outward indication of any kind other than a slight tip of her head, but her fingers dug into my forearm like talons. The last time I'd made Ethel's acquaintance we were both naked and in the upstairs of one of the town's saloons. She was a lady of the night, but did not flaunt that fact while out and about. That did not mean Piper would not recognize her profession regardless.
I inwardly groaned, for perhaps having my new wife and past conquest meet each other was not wise. Piper's anger toward me wasn't going to be soothed by this encounter. Hell, I doubted I'd be able to bed her before spring thaw at this pace.
I tipped my hat to her. "Ma'am. May I present to you my wife, Mrs. Wiley Easton?"
"How do you do?" Ethel replied to Piper, and then turned to me. "I thought you did not wish to wed. If I'd known you could be swayed, I would have applied more of my charm."
Beside me, Piper lifted her chin as she took obvious note of the barb.
Ethel's charms were abundant and very skilled. While I had enjoyed bed sport with her on more than one occasion, it had been fairly clinical; I'd needed the release found in a woman's body, but had not sought any kind of connection. My cock didn't even stir as I looked at her now. She was lovely and I knew what her skin felt like beneath my fingers, but the only body I wanted to get my hands on was Piper's, but she did not know that, and the chances of her allowing it were very low.
"It seems I found a way to ensnare her unlike any other," I replied. It was the truth and let Ethel believe I was infatuated with my new bride. As for Piper, I had no doubt she would unman me before the day was out for the comment, hopefully once we were alone at the hotel. "If you will excuse us, I promised my wife some peppermint from the mercantile."
As we headed toward the shop, I considered Ethel's value to me. As a woman, she had none. As a whore who might know the whereabouts of Miss Carter, well, a visit to her could be very worthwhile. She could be an excellent source for information, and I would visit her later. No doubt she'd assume I'd come to visit her at the brothel for some bed sport, regardless of my new married state. She was that confident in her charms. I would use that to my advantage and seek the answers I needed while keeping my hands to myself. Now if only I could make my own wife as eager for my attentions.
CHAPTER FOUR
PIPER
Using my brother's words, Wiley Easton was an insufferable ass. He not only forced my hand into marriage, but in the first town we came to we meet one of his strumpets. She might not look one to the average person, but a woman had an eye for these things. Miss Ethel Murbridge was a little too perfect, a little too relaxed and coy with Mr. Easton. My husband. How dare she flaunt herself and her charms to a married man? Of course, when he'd had his hands all over her charms he hadn't been married, but still. Ugh!
Not much was said over dinner, for I was so mad I assumed smoke was coming from my ears. He'd looked at me once and I'd glared back and from then on he'd kept his head down as he ate his steak and huckleberry cobbler. It was a smart move on his part for I had no interest in seeing his face.
His handsome, rugged face.
I inwardly screamed again. How could I find him so attractive? How could I remember how it felt like to be held in his arms? His scent? His kisses? I hated him. I hated him. I hated him.
When he saw me settled in the small hotel room and turned for the door, I hated him even more.
"Where are you going?" I asked. The sun was just about to set and I assumed after our long day we would be turning in. Did he intend to take his husbandly rights and take me? So far he'd been honorable, but did a woman want honor when she was curious about a man's touch and could legally do something about it? Even angry and frustrated with him, I wanted him to touch me, for no other man was going to do so.
"Out," he replied.
"Out? Where?"
He scratched the back of his head.
"Mr. Easton," I said, my tone a little tart.
"Don't you think you can call me Wiley? We're married now."
"Exactly. We're married, which means I should be given the courtesy of a more thorough answer to my question."
He looked down at the floor, and then turned to look at me. "I'm going to go make inquiries about Miss Carter. Where I'm going is no place for a lady. Don't wait up."
My mouth opened to speak but he shut the door behind him. He walked out on me! I'd been stunned to hear that his father had been a victim of the crimes my family had committed, it gave insight into what drove him so intensely. They'd been brought to justice and by now had paid the ultimate price for their crimes. He'd wanted justice served and it had, at least in part. Miss Carter was still at large, still not brought to account for her actions. While I could understand his need to find her, he'd left me! One night would not make any difference in tracking down the woman.