Outlaw Vices (third in The Crane Gang Series)manxman

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Craig woke that evening curled deep in the warmth of Ezekiel's arms. They'd fallen asleep all tangled together. Ezekiel had been exhausted after his trip to find Craig and Craig hadn't been sleeping well during their separation. After a round of love making it had simply been too great a temptation to curl up against Ezekiel's broad chest and sleep the rest of the afternoon away.

But now he needed to take care of nature's call—and he needed to find food. His stomach rumbled and Craig rubbed at it. If he and Ezekiel had four days of rutting to look forward too, they were going to need food.

Craig wondered if he should wake the other man up but Ezekiel seemed so peaceful and relaxed. There wasn't a single tense line or worry marring his stubbled face.

Craig simply watched him for several long moments. Never in his life had he thought he'd fall in love with a man.... He'd always been a skirt chaser. Ezekiel had changed that. Ezekiel had changed him. And Craig knew that the changes had certainly been for the better.

Craig didn't want to leave the warmth of Ezekiel's arms but he also didn't want to cause a puddle in the bed so, with a loathsome sigh, Craig slid free and stood slowly.

His body was sore from Ezekiel's hard loving but it was a damn good sore. He pulled on his clothes, donned his gun belt and shoved his hand through his tangled hair. He could use a shower, a shave and a hair cut. Ezekiel would wake up to see a brand new man.

Craig slipped from the room and, after a quick trip to the outhouse, he grabbed a change of clothes from the tailor and headed for the bathhouse.

He walked into the lantern lit diner forty-five minutes later with fresh clothes, clean skin and a trim up to his nearly shoulder length blond hair. He had thought about cutting it shorter but Ezekiel seemed to like the length—it gave him something to tug Craig around by.

With a grin on his face, Craig ordered two dinners to go and found an empty corner to stand in and wait. The diner was crowded tonight and he eavesdropped on several nearby conversations to pass time.

He felt like a new man. No more Susannah hanging over his head. No more worries. The future was wide open and looking real bright thanks to the man currently sleeping at the hotel.

Craig's thoughts became wrapped up on that man but were suddenly stolen by the sight of Susannah stepping in the door on the arm of a cowboy Craig didn't recognize.

What the hell did she think she was doing? She was supposed to be getting ready to get the hell out of town come morning.

Craig wasted no time before striding across the floor, grabbing the unsuspecting woman by the arm and pulling her right back out the door.

Her companion let out a startled yell and came after them. "Get your hands off my fiancée!" he exclaimed.

Craig stopped short. He was sure he painted a comical picture as his jaw damn near hit the floor and he whirled around on Susannah. "Fiancée? When the hell did that happen?"

Susannah threw him a warning gaze before turning back to the man who seemed quite concerned and ready to fight Craig if need be. "Darling, please go wait inside for me," she purred, laying a dainty hand on his arm. She batted her lashes as she gazed up at him. "My cousin just wants to talk for a moment."

Craig nearly laughed. Cousin? Damn, this woman was something.

The man glared at Craig a moment. "You sure you'll be alright?" he asked Susannah.