don’t be sore. But I do have a secret to share with you.”
“I don’t care to hear anything you have to say, Mr. West.”
Faster than she saw it coming, Zeke wrapped his fingers around her wrists, pinning her hands in place on the table. He angled close enough she felt his breath on her face. Her gut clenched with fear, but she didn’t move.
“I’m gonna tell you anyway. Here’s what I know about your land-hungry, cash-poor betrothed…he’s got ambitions. His ambitions include owning everything around him. It just so happens there’s a sliver of land between McKay and his neighbor Henrikson, ain’t big, maybe twenty acres. Griffen, the fella who bought that land two years back, didn’t know the bottom tip of his parcel crossed the creek. If he was raising cattle, they could cross the stream. But he’s raising sheep so that land is worthless to him, because he doesn’t want to get between two cattle ranchers, bein’s sheep and cattle can’t mix. Sure, he could fence those twenty acres at a huge cost. I bet even a pretty little teacher like you can do the math on how that ain’t a wise investment.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
His eyes glittered with satisfaction. “Because I bought that land. Me’n McKay are gonna be neighbors. Won’t that be fun? Maybe when he’s gone, out ridin’ the range, and you’re home alone, I’ll come over and get me some sugar from you.”
“But…how did you know…”
“This particular situation came up when me’n Zachariah were at Griffen’s buyin’ lambs to stock his ranch.”
Dinah didn’t have to feign confusion. “I thought your brother worked for the railroad.”
“Like McKay, Zachariah has been usin’ his railroad wages to buy land. Soon as he and Mary are married, he’ll be sheepherding fulltime. While we were there, Griffen was complaining about Henrikson’s disinterest in buyin’ it from him. I convinced him to sell it to me before he offered it to McKay.”
“How?” Wasn’t there some code in the West about offering land bordering yours to your neighbors first?
West shrugged. “I insinuated that McKay wouldn’t have the money to buy it until the fall after he sold cattle—probably not a lie at any rate. No surprise Griffen took my immediate cash offer. He’s kept the deal under his hat and the Crook County register of deeds is slow at updating their records. But McKay will know soon enough.”
The calculating look in West’s eyes changed and Dinah’s fear caused her to blurt out, “What does any of this have to do with me?”
Keeping his gaze locked on hers, Zeke began stroking the insides of her wrists with his thumbs. “Now that you’ve turned me down outright, I’m offering you another deal. I’ll sell you that piece of land McKay wants so badly…for one dollar and one night with you.”
“No.”
“You sure?” he said silkily. “What would one night of pleasure with me matter, when you’ll have the rest of your life to perform your wifely duty with McKay?”
She repeated, “No,” hating that her voice shook.
“Even if it’s our little secret?”
Dinah shook her head.
“But think of how grateful he’d be. Isn’t that your lot in life as a wife? To do whatever it takes to make your husband happy?” Zeke brushed his bearded cheek against hers and it burned like acid. “Or are you afraid if you fuck me that you’ll see what a poor option Silas McKay really is?”
“Stop. Please.”
“Make the deal with me, Dinah. Because I promise you that if I offered this same deal to McKay? He’d find a way to shove you into my bed even as he was convincing you that virtue is fleeting but land is forever.”
“You don’t know him. Silas wouldn’t do that.”
West laughed softly next to her ear. “That quiver in your voice belies the confidence in your words.”
“I’m shaking because you’re scaring me.”
“A little fear makes passion so much stronger.” His hands moved up her arms as he breathed heavily in her ear. “I’ll prove it to you…if you give me what I want.”
“Or you’ll just take it?” she said through gritted teeth.
Immediately Zeke released her with a shove. “I don’t have to force women into my bed.”
“No, you have to pay for them first.” Oh god. What had possessed her to say that?
But Zeke laughed. “All men end up payin’ for pussy one way or another. Maybe you oughta make yours worth something special.”
Dinah kept the distance between them despite the fury boiling over that he’d touched her, threatened her, cheapened her