Pistons and Pistols Page 9

  “There’s more,” Mr. Black said.

  “Yes?”

  “She’s low on fuel. Practically begged him for a load. If she does make it to the mine, she will have to load up there or go on sails. We should have her inside of a day. I’m just waiting for your word.”

  “What is there to wait for? By all means, tell them to go and get her!”

  “We will, but first you’re going to answer some questions for me.”

  Ruby cocked her head, doing her best to look confused. She’d wondered how long he would work without getting nosey. “What kind of questions?”

  “Who’s this new passenger? The one who carries this weapon you want so badly?”

  Ruby reached across the wheelchair to caress the man’s limp legs. “He’s the answer to both of our prayers.”

  “There’s talk that he isn’t natural. Something about him isn’t right.”

  “Do you believe such talk?”

  “No, but I learned long ago not to discount it either. There is always a kernel of truth in even the most unbelievable story.”

  Ruby pushed her hand farther up his thigh, rubbing just inches from his cock. “Let me set your mind at ease by saying that while he isn’t a threat, he is very important to my plans. And yours.”

  “Is he the one that’s going to fix me?”

  Ruby couldn’t help but smile. “You could say that.”

  “Who is he? You keep insisting he’s your nephew. Why lie?”

  Again it took everything she had not to laugh. How little he knew. A giggle surfaced against her best efforts.

  Mr. Black batted her hand away as he frowned, angered by her good humor. He wheeled himself across the room, facing the wall as if he couldn’t stand to look at her or to allow her to look at him. “You promised me I’d walk again, woman. You said I’d have new legs. Better legs. Now, can you make good on it? Or should I just roll out of this little whorehouse of yours right now and sell the news of your precious weapon to the highest bidder?”

  Ruby fought the urge to snatch up the nearest vase and put the man out of his misery. And hers. Instead she sauntered up behind him, slipping her hands across his shoulders then down his chest as she said, “Why would you want to throw away your one chance at being normal again?”

  “Normal? I’ll never be normal.”

  “That’s right. You won’t.” She lowered her lips to his ear and added, “You’ll be better than normal. You’ll be powerful. You’ll be a superman compared to the average slob. Dare I say…you’ll be a god?” She slipped her hands lower, leaning over his shoulder and chair to grab a handful of his hardening cock. The thing twitched to life in her hands. It amused her to know that, much like her, he grew aroused at the thought of wielding unspeakable power. In another time, perhaps, the two of them might have made quite the pair.

  “What about my life? My business?”

  “You’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted.”

  “And my wife? What of her?”

  Mr. Black hissed as Ruby clutched his cock harder in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to speak with desire of the woman so soon. “If she’s what you want, then it can be arranged. Is she what you want?”

  The man was silent, his focus shifted from the conversation to her busy hands.

  “What do you want?” Ruby asked.

  Mr. Black nuzzled his face against her arms as he cupped her hands with his, grinding her palms rougher against his cock. “I want you.”

  “That can be arranged as well.” Ruby tried to untangle herself from his grip, but he wouldn’t set her free. “Please, let me see when I have time—”

  “I want you now,” he said over her.

  Ruby struggled, but she was no match for his strength. “I have clients waiting for me—”

  “Now!” he roared.

  Ruby gave up the fight, knowing it was better to give him what he wanted than make an issue of it. “Yes, but you’ll have to let me go so I can call for help.”

  He held her firm. “What help?”

  “I can’t lift you to the bed on my own.”

  Mr. Black’s laughter was as loud as it was unexpected. “Help? I don’t need help, woman. From you or anyone else.” He released her as he swung his chair around her bed in a wide circle, stopping it just at the foot. In one great heave, the man pulled himself from the chair, onto the mattress, where he scooted across the silk sheets, dragging his lifeless legs behind him until he rested at the head of the bed.

  It all happened without the least effort on his part. Ruby wondered if perhaps she had underestimated him. What else was he capable of? She was torn from her stunned silence by a soft knock on the door. “Yes?”

  Her maid’s voice was thin from beyond the wood. “Your tea, ma’am.”

  In the face of Mr. Black’s actions, Ruby had almost forgotten the tea. “Just leave it by the door.”

  There was a pause. “Are you sure, ma’am?”

  “Yes, just leave it. Thank you.”

  Ruby stared, unsure what to do now that Mr. Black was in her bed. She had never pleasured an invalid before. Where did one start such things? Sure, she had jacked him a few times, had watched as one of her girls sucked his cock to a satisfied orgasm. But she had never witnessed him fucking one of her girls. He never seemed keen on the act, as if his condition made him ashamed to even try.

  But the man in her bed bore no shame. If anything, he seemed all too eager to get things going.

  “Well?” he asked as he rubbed the growing lump in his pants. “Are you going to stand there all day staring at me? Or are you going to bring that sweet ass over here so I can have a taste?”

  Ruby allowed a smile to surface as she sashayed to his side. Picking at the knot of her robe, feigning shyness, she said, “You caught me unawares with your visit. I’m afraid I’m not quite presentable.”

  “I’ve seen you looking worse.” He grinned at the memories.

  The man had a point. Before his accident, he was a regular visitor to her business. He had not only seen her in far worse positions, he had been in far more embarrassing ones himself. She undid her robe, letting it fall to the floor in a slow slide. Mr. Black grunted as her body came into view. With her last client but an hour ago, she hadn’t had a chance to change. As a result, she wore nothing under the robe but a thin pair of panties and a simple bra.

  “Damnation, Ruby,” Mr. Black said. “You look fine. Finer than I remember you looking.”

  “I’m glad you approve,” she said. “But aren’t you a little overdressed for this affair?”

  Mr. Black had already worked his tie free, and was slipping out of his jacket and shirt. Ruby gasped as she spied his bare torso—pale, pockmarked and lined with scars. Yet, aside from the damage, he was a muscular beast with huge biceps, broad shoulders and a washboard stomach. He was even more powerful than the last time she had seen him in the buff.

  “Horrid, isn’t it?” he asked, running his hands across the scars.

  “Not at all,” she said. “I don’t usually see such muscular men.”

  “I shouldn’t think so, with all the old farts you bed here. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of them couldn’t even get it up, much less keep it up.”

  Ruby smiled, holding back her laughter. He had no idea how right he was.

  He left his pants on, perhaps ashamed of his useless legs, unbuttoning his fly just enough to set free his sizable erection. From the looks of things down there, he more than approved of her body. He ran his hands over the length of his cock as he jacked it toward her. “Come here.”

  Ruby bent to slip free from her underwear, his groan announcing his growing approval.

  “You’ve got a great pussy,” he said, leering at her. “Always did.”

  She nodded as she reached to undo the bra.

  “Leave it on,” he commanded.

  Climbing onto the bed, she joined him. “Now, how can I be of assistance to you?”

  “I think you know the answer to that
. Come, sit here.” Mr. Black patted his thighs. “You’ll find it most comfortable.”

  Ruby mounted his lap, settling her ass against his thighs as he continued to work his cock between them. She ran her nails down his chest, taking care to work her way around his maze of scars. When her hands reached his groin, she took the duty from him, wrapping her slender fingers around his cock as best she could, jacking his thickness as he watched.

  “Do you want to feel my mouth?” she asked, then licked her lips.

  “No,” he said. “I want to feel your cunt.”

  The harsh tone of his command left her wet with want. It had been some time since she had someone so authoritative, or rather someone who hadn’t paid to keep her demure while he pretended to be in charge. She supposed there was a good chance she might enjoy this encounter. “You want to fuck me then?”

  “I want you to fuck me.”

  “I think I can manage that.”

  Ruby slipped forward, pushing his cock into her pussy in one swift thrust. Mr. Black’s eyelids fluttered as he groaned. She tried to lift away, but he held her to him for a few seconds as if he needed to adjust to the feel of her. Ruby wondered how long had it been since he had made proper love to a woman.

  Mr. Black showed his strength as he lifted her by the hips, raising her off of his cock almost to the tip, before pulling her back to him, plunging as deep into her pussy as he could manage. She groaned in delight, which he met with a growl. He lifted then lowered her again and again, each plunge followed by a primal growl from the man and a louder groan from her. After a few more lifts, he released her hips, grasping her instead by either side of the face. He yanked her down to him, locking lips with hers in a kiss that was anything but loving. At length, he pulled back but kept a firm hold of her face between his hands.

  “Now,” he said between gasps. “Fuck me.”

  Ruby stared him dead in the eyes as she shifted her hips, drawing her puss across his cock. He neither hissed nor groaned nor growled. She rose up, lifting herself from his cock, then plunged down on it again. Mr. Black showed no sign of pleasure at this. He maintained an impressive control over his reactions to her manipulations as he lowered his hands to her breasts.

  “Fuck me, woman,” he said. “Fuck me like you mean it!”

  Ruby obliged, steadying herself by grabbing his shoulders as she jumped against him in short bursts, riding his erection while he fondled her breasts. The whole act was erotic for her in ways he would never suspect. Here was a man who was powerful indeed, yet still at her mercy. He might be able to subdue her, to hold her by force or even pin her under his weight, but where would he be then? It was her movements that pleasured them both. In the usual course of things, it was the man who fucked her. Yet here, she was in charge.

  She really was fucking him.

  Before she knew what was happening, her bra was undone. He sucked a nipple between his teeth before he bit down on it, hard.

  “Yes!” Ruby yelled. She cursed herself for showing enjoyment at his actions. It never paid to let a man know what pleased you. He would only lord it over you later.

  “You still like that, do you?” he asked, then laughed. He pulled at her other nipple, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger to the sound of her delighted groan. “You thought I forgot. Didn’t you? I never forget, Ruby. You’d do well to keep that in mind. I never forget. Anything.”

  He spent the next few minutes biting her nipples and gnawing at her breasts until Ruby thought she would orgasm from the oral attention alone. But she didn’t want to climax. Letting him bring her to orgasm would be almost more humiliating than having to service him for free. Yet even that was arousing her, the idea that he was using her, spending her like some well-earned favor.

  She pushed down her lust, reminding herself that this was all just business. And, as any good tradeswoman knows, one should never mix business with pleasure. All the while she rode his cock with wild abandon, trying to get him to climax so they could be done with it. Just when she thought she might lose the battle, he stopped his assault on her chest, grasping her by the hips.

  “Faster,” he commanded.

  Ruby recognized the stiffening of his desire within her, the signal of his need for release. She picked up her pace, adding a few squeals of exaggerated pleasure at each violation. Mr. Black took over at the last few plunges, lifting and lowering her body, his massive arms carrying her full weight. She tried her best to ignore the pleasure of it, the effect that his cock was having on her, the threatening orgasm he was trying his best to bring her. Without warning, he grabbed her by the roots of her hair, jerking her head down until her ear was at his lips.

  “I sent them off an hour ago,” he whispered in a growl. “You should have her by the morrow.”

  The news of Rose’s impending capture sent Ruby over the edge.

  They came together in a howling spasm of much-needed release.

  Mr. Black tensed and shuddered under her, his eyes clenched tight as he held her to him by the waist. Ruby quivered above him, watching him with fascination as she rolled her sex over his, milking him to the last drop of his desire. While it was the second orgasm of the day for Ruby, it had been a long time since she had shared the experience with another. She’d almost forgotten what it was like.

  Not unpleasant. But she would be loath to admit it.

  After a bit, Mr. Black opened his eyes only to narrow them at her. “We came together.” The sound of his voice suggested he expected some sort of deception to result from their mutual climax.

  “Yes,” she said. “I know. I was there.”

  “Does that mean you enjoyed it?”

  “I never enjoy it. It was…acceptable.”

  He ran his hands up her bare back, pulling her down to him into a clutching embrace. Something like a hug, but not quite. “Not bad for a cripple?”

  She snorted against his scarred shoulder. “Not bad for a man.”

  His hollow laughter rang through her bedroom for almost a full minute. In its wake, she was left with a strange feeling. Something Ruby never expected the sound of a man’s laughter would do.

  It warmed her cold heart.

  Chapter 10

  Jack of Hearts, Queen of Clubs

  In which we solve one problem, only to discover another

  Gabriella was winning.

  Big.

  A mountain of paper sat before her, each one a single share to the mine just on the edge of town. She could have played all night, could have owned the whole mine before she was done with them. Could have, but knew she shouldn’t. Gabriella knew the captain wouldn’t let her, which was probably for the best.

  At first she bet small, lost a few hands, tested the waters. But once she got her feet under her and her head around the odds, it was just a matter of waiting for the best hands to present themselves. The men all seemed to think beginner’s luck was responsible for the phenomenon, so she supposed it must have something to do with it. Gabriella was well into winning her fifteenth hand in a row when the captain discovered them.

  “Gabriella Upstairs?” the captain asked from the saloon doorway. “What are you doing here?”

  The entire tavern fell quiet at the captain’s voice.

  “Oh dear,” Gabriella said as she stood, almost tipping the table to the floor in her effort to rise in salute. “Good evening, Captain.”

  The room parted straight down the middle as each man moved aside to let the captain pass. Maybe they respected the title. Perhaps they recognized the trouble in the woman’s voice. Or perhaps it was the impressive scowl of the first mate, who stayed close on the captain’s heels, that made every man scramble for safer ground.

  “Okay,” the barkeep said. “That’s enough gawking, you lot.”

  Once again the men grumbled about being told to mind their business, but overall they did just that.

  The captain came to rest just a few feet from Gabriella, her expression a mix of anger and disappointment. “Young lady, wh
at are you doing off the ship?”

  Gabriella was at a loss for words. “I…I…that is to say…”

  “I asked her to accompany me,” Atom said.

  As if she hadn’t noticed the man, and how that could be Gabriella would never know, the captain turned her attention to Atom. “And just what are you doing here? Jayne? You too?”

  Jayne started to speak, but Atom held up his hand, asking for her silence.

  “As you are quick to point out,” Atom said, “I am not one of your crew. I am free to do as I please. And I wanted to visit this tavern for a drink with a few of my friends.”

  The captain’s nostrils flared as she considered Atom’s words.

  “Guppy?” Dot asked. “Are you gambling?”

  Gabriella blushed, mortified to be caught in such a horrid act by the older woman. She dipped her head in shame.

  “Say you are at least winning,” Jax said.

  Lifting her head with a slight smile, Gabriella nodded.

  “She isn’t just winning,” Clemet said, “she’s cleaning our clocks.”

  The captain snorted a small laugh, then spied the papers piled in front of Gabriella. “What are you playing with? Love notes?”

  “Shares of the mine,” Buford explained.

  The captain seemed to like the sound of that. Her mouth curled at the edges as a smile came upon her. “Shares, you say.”

  “You thinking what Jax is thinking?” Jax asked.

  “I bet it’s what Dot’s thinking too,” Dot said.

  The three of them stared at the pile of papers, wide smiles all around.

  Gabriella had no idea what they were thinking. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

  “At ease, Guppy,” the captain said.

  While she relaxed a little, Gabriella wasn’t sure what to do now that she had been caught.

  “And for heaven’s sake,” the captain added with a wink, “don’t let me interrupt your game. You play on. Enjoy yourself.”

  That was over an hour ago, and boy did Gabriella ever enjoy herself. She hadn’t had this much fun in years. Who knew a simple game could provide such entertainment? But, alas, all good things must end. Before she knew it, she won her last hand.