Payton's Woman Read Online Free

kill me?”
    “That’s right,” the man said.
    Julia sensed the man lied.
She hoped Payton realized it also. She worried more about his fate than her
own. He’d defended and protected her. She didn’t want him to die simply because
he’d offered his help.
    Payton grabbed her arm
and pulled her beside him. He pushed the hood from her head, exposing her hair
in the foggy moonlight.
    “I didn’t know she was
all you wanted.” He threw open her cloak to reveal the swell of her nearly
bared breasts. The two men watched in leering awe as he stroked his fingers
over the skin of her breasts.
    “She is beautiful. And
she’s got a body a man could spend all night loving and never get enough of.
But...” His voice had been low, almost mesmerizing, but it turned hard. “No
woman is worth dying for. You can both have her.” He flung her toward them.
    Julia barely had time to
gasp in shock before he tossed her into a heap at the feet of the two men. She
couldn’t believe it. That cowardly pirate had given her to these horrible men
to save his own life.
    Her surprise quickly
became outrage. If she possessed a weapon, that spineless captain would be her
first target. The single shot from a revolver scattered her thoughts. She attempted
to stand to see what had happened, but a hand pushed her back down.
    “Stay there,” Payton
ordered as he stepped over her.
    She remained crouched on
her hands and knees, but from her position, she saw both men sprawled beside
her on the walk.
    He pulled his knife from
the body of one of the men and wiped the blade clean on the man’s clothing
before sheathing it again. The wounded man squirmed in agony.
    She squeezed her eyelids
shut, blocking the sight of blood squirting from his chest. Bile rose in her
throat, and she clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle the gags.
    “We’ve got to get away
from here. That shot will likely bring others.” He lifted her from the ground.
    As they scrambled down
the street, she heard doors open and voices call out. Brisk footsteps swirled
around in the fog. They hurried for several blocks without stopping before he
maneuvered her into the alcove of a storefront.
    “We can stop here for a
few minutes so you can catch your breath.” He gathered her cloak around her
body.
    She pulled one arm free
of the cloak and swung at him with her fist. If he hadn’t moved at the last
instant, she would’ve caught him squarely on his cheek, but her fist glanced
off the tip of his bearded chin. “You were going to let those men have me.”
    He grabbed both arms and
pinned them to her sides. “Keep your voice down.”
    “Are you afraid?” she
asked in a voice just as loud, but now tinged with sarcasm. “You can always
trade me again to save your own miserable, worthless—”
    He pulled her against
him. His tight embrace cut off the rest of her words. “Is that what you think?”
    “That you’re worthless
and miserable?” she managed to say while struggling against him, yet she couldn’t
budge his solid frame.
    His lips curved into a
smile. “I thought I was a man of courage and honor.”
    “Evidently your courage
stops short of protecting a defenseless woman.”
    “Any man that ever
connects with your fist will never call you defenseless.” He put the side of
his finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. “Did you actually
believe I’d hand you over to that scum?”
    “You did. You threw me
at their feet,” she said, but some of her bluster had faded.
    “That was to get you out
of the way. I would’ve preferred to keep you behind me, but they seemed intent
on killing me. I couldn’t have helped you if I was dead. Didn’t you wonder why
I pulled back your cloak to expose your breasts?”
    “I-I thought you were
just being rude.”
    “You thought I wanted
one last feel before I gave you over to them? You do have a body that starts a
man thinking. That’s exactly what I wanted them to do—think about you. They had
their revolvers