Ruthless Heart. Emma Lang

her.

      Her father never knew of Ephraim’s teachings, and for that lone fact, Eliza was grateful she could lie. It wasn’t a skill she had used in her life until she realized Silas Hunter would never let his daughters be exposed to anyone who did not believe what he did. The LDS church had no room for nonbelievers, and as a prominent man in their ward, her father had a reputation to uphold.

      Eliza had no such qualms. At nearly twenty-one years old, she had long since given up on God and the LDS teachings. Science and all its glory had shown her the true meaning of what surrounded her. She’d always questioned the entire concept of faith, but had kept quiet for fear of embarrassment and ostracism.

      She’d been right in doing so, because once she became a scientist in truth, and began doing experiments and building inventions with Ephraim, she would have been expelled from her family and her life if discovered. As it was, Silas had found her doing experiments, or constructing inventions, on six occasions. He’d been beyond furious and had forbidden her from performing the devil’s bidding, destroyed her work, and beaten her until she’d been bedridden for days afterward. Eliza remembered each and every one very clearly.

      Angeline was the only one who accepted her as a whole person, never judging Eliza or condemning her for beliefs she didn’t share. Eliza’s younger sister was the angel her name implied. She was sweet, obedient, and seventeen years old, and she was out there in the world with only another woman for company.

      Eliza had to find Angeline before anything horrible happened. She’d disappeared nearly two weeks earlier along with Lettie Brown, the second wife to Josiah. Angeline was wife number three. Eliza might have believed Josiah had murdered both of them if it weren’t for a conversation she overheard in her own house.

      Josiah had hired Grady Wolfe to hunt down the two women. Eliza knew then she had to find Angeline before Grady did or her sister would have to return to the life she had run from. Knowing how much Angeline followed the LDS teachings and how obedient she’d been all her life, something horrific had happened. Eliza knew a great deal of what had happened in Brown’s house, how Josiah had beaten his new wife, and she could only wonder what truly horrible thing he’d done to send the two women out into the world alone.

      Eliza had never been so frightened in her life. Angeline was her baby sister; she’d practically raised her from the time they were girls and their mother passed away. Eliza had always thought it was due to unhappiness with her life, since Margaret Hunter had been a convert to LDS, never quite fitting into the community. Her girls had been her life, and her death had deepened the bond between them.

      There wasn’t anything Eliza wouldn’t do for Angeline, including setting out on a dangerous adventure she had never imagined doing. Now here she was alone in the middle of nowhere riding a horse and chasing a bounty hunter.

      If it weren’t true, Eliza might have thought she was reading about it in a book. That thought made a chuckle burst from her dry throat. In another hour she might start talking to herself, and that would be not only embarrassing but worrisome. She needed to keep her wits about her. Grady Wolfe was a smart man, exceptionally smart.

      The moon had long since been hanging in the dark velvet sky when Eliza slid off Melba. The horse shook its head as if it was as exhausted and shaky as she was. The small campfire fifty yards ahead had to be Grady. It had to be.

      If it wasn’t him, she might lose whatever grip she had on consciousness and fall to the scrubby ground in a faint. Dramatic but sadly true. Eliza wasn’t generally given to dramatics or frailty, but she had to accept she’d reached her limit and desperately required relief.

      She secured the horse to a low branch on a tree, then took off her shoes to creep up on the fire. Grady might be asleep or simply waiting for her to get close enough to slit her throat with that enormous knife of his. Her breath came out in white puffs in the frigid night air. It seemed colder than the night before, but more than likely it was due to her complete exhaustion.

      Eliza almost wept when she recognized his horse. She could hardly believe it, but she’d successfully tracked a professional tracker. Ephraim would be proud of her. She was proud of herself.

      As she approached the small fire, nearly embers, it popped and snapped, sending Eliza’s heart into a gallop. She stopped in her tracks and waited, but the still figure on the other side of the blaze didn’t move. He lay on his side with his bedroll tucked around him, snug as a bug in a rug. Eliza debated what to do before she turned around and returned to Melba to unsaddle him.

      She whispered an apology to the old but steadfast horse before she gave him a quick rubdown with his blanket and made sure he could reach the sweet, cool grass nearby. Eliza felt the sting of tears as she retrieved her own blanket and ignored the sheer agony in her legs.

      The tiny fire called to her, offering sleep and warmth. Eliza followed the lure of the fire, knowing the man who slept beside it would likely be quite angry with her when he woke. Angry was probably a mild word, but that was the least of her concerns. Right then she felt as though she’d become a singular being with simple needs of heat, sleep, and food.

      Eliza stumbled, nearly falling on her head, as she reached the edge of Grady’s camp. After righting herself, she stepped around to where he lay on the ground. She put her blanket down on the ground next to him, then got to her knees and crawled in beside his big, warm body.

      For the second time that day, tears pricked her eyes as she lay down and felt the heat from the fire on her front, and Grady’s behind her. She was instantly asleep.

      Chapter Three

      Grady woke slowly in the gray predawn light, unusual for him, but he hadn’t slept well because he’d dreamed of Eliza. In his dream, she’d been in his arms, pliant and soft. He woke up with a dick harder than an oak tree, pulsing and growling with need. Grady reached out and found he hadn’t been dreaming after all—there was a woman in his bedroll.

      He traced her luscious curves until he reached her round backside, which he caressed gently before he pressed himself against it. She moaned softly, and Grady continued his explorations past the dip of her waist.

      Her breasts were round and full, the nipple peaked almost immediately in his hand. He tweaked it until it hardened perceptibly, and he had to taste it.

      Conveniently enough, there were only six buttons on the front of her blouse, and he made quick work of them. He reached in to find a rough chemise covering his prize, but he pushed it out of the way until he found flesh.

      It was softer than anything he’d ever felt, warm and inviting. Grady pulled her on her back and ducked beneath the bedroll to claim the best tits he’d ever held in his hand. The heat beneath the blanket was full of her scent, woman, and arousal. It sent a pulse through him, making his dick grow even longer. He breathed in deep, inhaling all of it into his body.

      He nuzzled her and was rewarded with a kittenish sigh. Her breasts begged for his touch, and he was more than willing to oblige. Cupping one, he began licking the other, small catlike licks all around the nipple. He enjoyed the tight bud brushing against his cheek as he deliberately avoided it.

      It wasn’t until he could hardly stand it another second before he gently licked a nipple. He was rewarded with a sigh of pleasure, so he sucked on it; the sweet flavor of her skin made him groan. As he tweaked the other, she pushed up into him, filling his mouth with her breast.

      Grady accepted the gift for what it was and nibbled at her as his hand crept down her body to the juncture of her thighs. Her heat penetrated through the clothing to his touch. Grady bit her and she jumped, bumping her head into his. Reality crashed down around him and he woke up fully as the pain from the collision throbbed almost as much as his dick.

      “Oh, my.”

      That voice. He knew that voice.

      It was Miss Eliza, the damn schoolmarm, under him, with her breast in his mouth and her pussy currently pulsing in his hand.

      Holy shit.

      He took his hands away slowly, almost as if