Bound For Eden by Tess Lesue Read Free Book Online

sheet.
    There was a moan and Alex’s heart stopped. A tangled mass of red hair rose from the other side of Luke.
    â€˜Whaddya want?’ the whore complained, rubbing tiredly at her face. Her rouge was smudged and there were black rings around her eyes where the paint had run.
    â€˜Uh . . . him,’ Alex admitted, nodding at Luke and twisting the brim of her hat between her fingers.
    The woman struggled to sit up and look Alex up and down. Alex was horrified when the sheet fell free, exposing the whore’s large breasts. Her gaze flew down to her boots and she felt her face burn. She’d never blushed so much in her life as she had in the last twenty-four hours. Did no-one in Missouri have a sense of common decency?
    And if it was this rough here, what would it be like on the frontier?
    Seline leaned over Luke, her breasts brushing his bare back as she ran her fingers through his thick black hair.
    â€˜Darlin’? You’ve got company.’
    â€˜So I feel,’ he said sleepily.
    Alex stole a peek and saw him roll over with a bleary but wolfish grin, his eyes lingering on Seline’s exposed flesh.
    â€˜Not me,’ the whore teased, and Alex was sure she heard the hint of a giggle in her voice, ‘him.’
    Luke blinked and followed Seline’s gaze to the door, where Alex shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
    â€˜Well, if it ain’t Al Alexander. Aren’t you a little young for a whorehouse? You don’t look more’n twelve.’
    â€˜Mr Taylor said I could find you here.’
    â€˜And you did.’ One of Luke’s hands was rubbing lazy circles on Seline’s back. Alex wished he’d stop. She couldn’t help wondering how it would feel to have that large hand caressing her back instead . . . judging by Seline’s expression it would feel pretty good indeed.
    â€˜You said you knew a wagon maker?’
    â€˜You sure are in an all-fire hurry, aren’t you?’
    â€˜I just thought you might be able to point me in the right direction,’ Alex said lamely.
    Luke gave her a good-natured grin. ‘Sure I will. But maybe a little later. I’ve got my hands full at the moment.’
    He certainly did.
    Alex mumbled an apology. She felt absolutely ridiculous. What had she been thinking? The man was in a whorehouse, for heaven’s sake. He was hardly going to be in the mood to talk wagons with a scruffy boy.
    â€˜I’ll find you at Ralph’s around noon,’ he called after her.
    Alex could hear Seline giggle as the door clicked closed behind her.

Seven
    Luke was half expecting the tears. He seemed to have that kind of effect on women.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ Seline sniffled, ‘I shouldn’t have asked.’
    Luke sighed and stopped buttoning his shirt. He took the girl in his arms and gently stroked her back. Why did it always end this way? He thought the whole point of hiring a whore was that there were no strings attached, but here she was asking him to take her with him. ‘I’m so miserable here,’ she’d whispered, looking up at him with her big moist eyes.
    Last time it had been Gracie weeping into his shirt. And the time before that Margaret had actually wrapped herself around him and begged him to marry her. Marry her! Much as he liked these girls, he wasn’t looking to keep them.
    â€˜You’re too much of a knight in shining armour,’ Dolly scolded him every time he left. ‘You need to treat it like a business transaction. And for pity’s sake, stop spending the night!’
    â€˜I thought you liked my money.’
    â€˜I do, but I’m not fond of the miserable whores you leave behind. They mope for days after you leave town.’
    He sighed again now, thinking of the look that would be on Dolly’s face when she saw his wet shirt, with its telltale kohl stains.
    He did his best, he really did. He never slept with the same one two nights in a row. He never