tingle. He wanted to lean back, close his eyes, and let her keep pouring handfuls of water over him, but the nearness of her naked body made it impossible to relax. He sat in nervous silence, the water running through his hair, into his eyes, and down his mustache.
She reached over to a small stand behind him, picked up a scrubbing brush, and dipped the bristles into the soapy water. Placing a hand on his back, she gently pushed him forward. He bent at the waist, his back stiff as the brush scrubbed his shoulders, his neck, and his back. Annabelle smiled, watching his skin turn from fishbelly white to the rosy pink of sunset.
After a few minutes, she declared him finished and stood up. He splashed his way out of the tub and into a towel she was holding. She rubbed him down with it, stopping a few times to kiss his exposed skin. Her lips were soft, but he still jumped as though she was poking him with a needle. She giggled when he did, a lilting sound that made his knees feel weak.
Grasping his hand in both of hers, she led him through an archway into the bedroom. The smile never left her lips, even as she began kissing him. She lay back on the sheets and pulled him on top of her. The heat of her seemed to set him aflame, and he felt his arms quiver as he held himself above her.
It was over all too quickly. He crawled up next to her and collapsed, still catching his breath. Annabelle's smile widened as she draped an arm over his stomach.
"So tell me about your week," she said.
He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "Oh, it was pretty normal, I reckon." Pillow talk was one of her services. Most of her clients probably enjoyed talking about themselves and their work, hoping to impress her with stories of strength or riches, but Jack's tongue always tied itself in knots. Her breath on his cheek made him want to best them all, to tell her a tale grand enough to make her eyes shine. His mind raced, searching for something, anything to say.
A thought came to him. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.
"Go on, sugar." Her voice felt like silk on his ears. "Say what you want to say."
"You can keep a secret, can't you?"
"Secrets are my trade," she said, giving him a look that made him want to crawl under the bed.
"Well, then," he said, "I got a secret to say."
"I'm all ears," she murmured, kissing his.
Her kisses sent shivers down to his toes. "Well, me and the marshal went out riding one morning, and we come across this clearing, right? Well, some poor fellers met with a bad end there. Real bad. I don't want to tell you the details, so I'll just say I've never seen worse in my two years of upholding the law."
Her hand traced circles around his belly button. "Did you find out who done those fellers in?"
"Of course I did," he replied, trying to make his voice sound strong. "I tracked him all the way through the woods and up a mountain. Cornered him in a mine and made ready to do what I had to do."
"Did you lick him proper?"
"Well, turns out the culprit wasn't exactly a man or even a gang of them," he said, turning his head to face her.
Her thin eyebrows pulled together. "What was it, then? A grizzly?"
"Nope, not that, neither." He swallowed and looked her in the eyes. "It was some sort of monster. A monster that used to be a man."
"I don't follow," she said.
"Can't say for sure my own self," he said. "It had a man's shape, see, but its legs and arms was all stretched out like a spider's." Jack could see her interest growing, and his heart started beating faster. "Anyway, like I said, I got it cornered in a mine, but it lashed out and knocked my gun right out of my hand. Took a leap at me, so I had to roll to get clear and nearly bashed my brains out on a big old rock. I picked myself up and pulled my other gun. The monster was coming back at me pell-mell, its big arms reaching to tear off my head. I stood stock still, waiting for my shot. When it came, I took it. Hit the thing square between the eyes, but even