Over the Barrel by Breanna Hayse Read Free Book Online Page A

want to get through this pass
tomorrow, which means starting out early and trying to avoid the midday
sun."
    "Mr. Adkins?"
    "Call me Sloan."
    "Very well, Sloan.   Might I try some of that whiskey?   I've never had spirits before."
    "Do you want me to get you a cigar,
too?" he teased, taking out the bottle and pouring a bit into the canteen
lid.
    "I really don't care much for
those," Blair grinned, sharing the story of her final day at the academy.
    "You didn't!" Sloan exclaimed
as she sniffed the golden brew.
    "I certainly did.   Oh, this is horrid!"   Blair made a wry face as she sipped the
liquid.   "It makes my throat
burn."
    "Some people call it rotgut,"
Sloan chuckled as Blair slowly downed the remainder of her drink from the small
cup.   "You don't have to finish
it."
    "It tastes terrible but leaves a
nice warm feeling inside of me.   May
I have another?"
    "No, that is enough.   I don't need to see you getting tipsy on
me."
    "Please?"
    With a reluctant sigh, he poured her
another shot.   "It you are
going to drink whiskey, then you need to do it like a man.   Tip it up and take the whole thing at once."
    Blair grinned and followed his
directions.   Her coughing fit lasted
several minutes and she had tears dripping down her face.   "That was awful," she choked.   "I'm cured.   Never again."
    "Yeah, well, wait until it hits
you," Sloan said, lying back with his head on his saddle and closing his
eyes.
    Minutes later, Blair began to
giggle.   "Look how pretty the
stars are!   One ... two …"
    "Please tell me you aren't going to
try to count them," the man moaned.   "What are you doing?   I
thought you were cured of your curiosity."
    Blair took a gulp from the bottle and
began coughing again.   She wiped her
mouth with her sleeve.   "I
didn't know I would feel this way.   It makes me … happy."
    "Drink too much of it and you won't
be happy tomorrow."
    "I'll be fine!" Blair giggled
again as she crawled on her hands and knees next to him.   "I'm cold.   Share your rock with me."
    Sloan scooted over so she could lean back
by his side.   She took another drink
from the bottle, without coughing this time.
    "You've had enough, Squirrel.   Let me have that, please."
    "I'm not done yet," she
snickered.   "Why are you
calling me squirrel?"
    "Give me that bottle," Sloan
said patiently, pulling it from her hands.   "You chatter like a squirrel and, like a squirrel, you are pretty
cute until you turn on someone."
    "Then I bite!" Blair announced.
    "What are you doing?   You are not going to bite my neck!   Hey!"
    "I think I'm drunk," Blair
stated.   Sloan's eyes widened as she
climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.   "You saved me.   You didn't have to do anything, and you
did.   I didn't thank you
properly."
    Blair crushed her lips against his,
probing his mouth with her warm tongue.   Sloan slowly returned the kiss as chastely as possible.   With a growl, Blair grabbed his face and
pressed her mouth more fervently while straddling his hips.   Her knees dugs into the rock behind them
as she forced her body as close to his as she could manage.
    "Blair … stop.   You don't know what you are doing,"
Sloan said, as he gently pushed her off him.   He kept his hands on her shoulders, his
thumbs stroking gently into her collarbone.   "I'm no saint, but I can't let you
do this.   It isn't proper."
    "You are worried about being
proper?" Blair asked, swaying as she slowly stood.   "Of all the things that this life
has for us, I would think that being proper would be on the bottom of your
list.   You are a very handsome
man.   Very handsome.   Maybe you would like to spank me again,
but take your time, so we both can enjoy it."   She released her long, dark brown hair
from the chignon and let it fall in heavy waves to her waist.   Sloan swallowed dryly as she began to
unfasten the buttons of her bodice, slipped her arms from the long sleeves, and
let the dress crumble to the