The Outlaw by Lily Graison Page A

was well defined
and his stomach muscles dipped and curved. Her mouth went dry just
looking at him and she never moved or blinked until he reached for
the front of his pants. It took her a moment to realize what he was
doing and when he pushed the material down, sliding it over his
hips, she caught the faintest flash of where that hair on his belly
ended up. Her eyes widened when he bent to kick the pants away, his
backside in plain sight, and she screamed, embarrassed, as she
lifted her hands to her face to cover her eyes. “Colt!”
     
    His laughter was the only thing she heard
until the splash of water reached her. He was in the creek, butt
naked. The desire to look was overwhelming. Her hands shook with
the need to do so and her fingers twitched to slide apart so she
could peek through them.
     
    “What’s the matter, sweetheart? Never seen a
naked man before?”
     
    “No! Why on earth would I have?”
     
    His laughter taunted her. Did he want her to
see him? Knowing Colt, he did. The man never did anything without a
reason. Chewing on her lip, she debated on what to do. Uncover her
face and ignore him or sit here like some ninny with her eyes
covered. His laughter only proved how ridiculous she probably
looked and with a deep inhale, she lowered her hands, trying
desperately not to look toward the creek.
     
    The splashing water only made it harder. The
cool water probably felt wonderful and the more Sarah thought about
it, the more her dress stuck to her body. She was hot, her skin
felt sticky, and damn his hide for taunting her. How would he react
if she’d done such a brazen thing?
     
    A naughty thought struck her then and the
smile tugging at her mouth was held at bay by biting her lip. What
would he do? Stand there and gawk at her? Kiss her again? Or would
he do more? Either thought caused a ripple of pleasure to tingle up
her spine.
     
    But what would her father say? He’d probably
whip her good and proper for even thinking such a thing. Good girls
didn’t strip bare for a man that wasn’t her husband. They certainly
didn’t have sinful thoughts of that man touching her, of him
kissing her in places that weren’t her mouth or of feeling his
hands on her flesh. They certainly didn’t entertain the thought of
lying with him, of letting him do things to her no unmarried woman
was supposed to do.
     
    The water splashing again broke her train of
thought and Sarah turned her head to look without thinking. Colt’s
naked backside was in full view and lord have mercy that man was
built for sin. Even his behind was a work of art. Hard muscles and
gentle sloping cheeks. She swallowed to moisten her throat.
     
    When he went to his knees, splashing water
onto his face and neck, all those muscles bunched and glinted with
water. He was purposely displaying himself for her and damn him,
she wasn’t going to be the only one salivating like a starving
dog.
     
    Standing, she reached for the buttons of her
dress, unhooked them quickly and parted the material. A fleeting
thought of turning her back flashed across her mind but she ignored
it. She couldn’t be wanton and shy at the same time.
     
    Untying her shift, she grabbed both it and
the dress from her shoulders, she pushed the material down and over
her hips, grabbing the waistband of her slip in the process and
sliding it all to the ground. She was left in nothing but her
bloomers. Raising her arm, she covered her breasts for a moment
before stealing her nerves. Colt still had his back to her but she
knew if she saw his face, he’d be smiling, getting a good chuckle
out of making her uncomfortable.
     
    Well, two could play this game. Her bloomers
joined the rest of the clothes at her feet. She quickly untied her
hair, unwound the braid and let it all fall down her back and
started for the creek, her head held high.
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
    The moment her feet touched the water she
gasped. It was colder than she thought it would be. Her