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  "I would strongly advise you to do as the deputy says," Jeb added. "He's the best marksman I've ever seen."

  "Bullshit!" Joe snorted. "You're bluffing! Even if you were going to shoot me, you couldn't hit a cow's ass if you were crouched right behind it and it was shitting on you!"

  With a furious, muffled squeal, Sapphire moved so fast, Crawford almost missed it. Within the blink of an eye, she had raised her heel and kicked her captor in the shin, then elbowed him in the ribs.

  It worked. Joe, taken by surprise, released his hold on her neck enough that she could slip out of his grasp. "Get the fuck back here, you little—"

  He never completed his sentence. Crawford's bullet hit him directly in the forehead, dropping him like a stone.

  Seconds later, Sapphire slithered to a halt beside Crawford's horse, gazing up at him with haunted, pleading eyes, holding up her still tethered wrists.

  Without a moment's hesitation, he reached down and hauled her up, tugging off his coat and wrapping it around her shivering body, calling to Jeb or Gabe to give him a knife so he could remove the bonds and gag.

  "Great shot," Jeb said, handing him a small blade.

  Crawford barely acknowledged the sheriff as he slit open first the gag in her mouth, then the rope around her wrists. "My darling, my poor sweetheart, are you all right?"

  "I am now," she sobbed, reaching up the moment her hands were free to cling to him tightly. "I thought I was never going to see you again!"

  "I know, I feared the same thing." Just saying it aloud made him feel an icy handgrip his heart once again. "Did he hurt you?"

  She shook her head, tears streaming down her pale face. "No, no, I'm all right, I promise. You just got here in time. Listen, I'm sorry. I should have asked someone to escort me to the outhouse. I didn't think… I didn't see it as leaving. If you feel you need to punish me—"

  Her breathless apologies were cut short as he bent his head and crushed her lips with his own, one arm cradling her to his chest, the other hand stroking her tangled curls. He could feel the frantic beating of her heart.

  Or perhaps it was his own.

  "I love you," he gasped, when he finally broke away. "You know how I love to unleash my inner beast upon you sometimes, but I would never, never punish you unfairly. If anything, it was my fault—"

  "How could it possibly have been your fault?"

  "I saw that man following you one day. It made me uneasy. I saw him again a couple of times, at the Petticoat, but you seemed to know him, seemed capable of handling him… if only I'd warned you. I'm so, so sorry."

  "It's all right, no-one could have known he'd turn out to be so insane. Please, I'd hate for you to feel bad. I'm fine, I promise, you saved me in time." As if only just aware that there were two other men beside them, sitting silently astride their horses, she looked at both Jeb and Gabe in turn. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "Thank you for finding me, and rescuing me." Without looking at Joe's crumpled body still lying where it had fallen, she inclined her head to indicate him behind her. "Sheriff?"

  "Yes, Sapphire?"

  "Deputy Slade isn't going to be in trouble for… that, is he? For… k-killing him?"

  "No, sweetheart, he isn't. Joe Harris was directly threatening your life. Crawford here did the right thing by shooting him. And there are two witnesses to prove it, should that ever be necessary."

  "We ought to get back," Gabriel said. "Poor Jewel and the girls will be out of their minds with worry. And this young lady ought to be checked over by the doctor."

  "Oh, there's no need for that—"

  "Hush," Crawford said firmly. "You've obviously had a blow to the head, I can see the wound. And you'll be in shock, at the very least. I know you don't necessarily like obeying me but, this time at least, you will. Understand?"

  With a small sigh of what sounded like contented resignation, she huddled further into his coat and snuggled into his chest. "Yes, sir."

  "Good girl. I love you so much."

  "I love you, too."

  Epilogue

  It had been two weeks since that harrowing day on which Joe Harris had kidnapped Sapphire. The wound on her temple, which she'd received when he'd punched her in the head behind the saloon—to render her unconscious so he could get her up onto his horse more easily—had almost fully healed.

  Sheriff Justice and Mr. Gabe had ridden straight back to The Red Petticoat to tell everyone that she had been found and was all right, while Crawford had been as good as his word and taken her directly to see Doc Norwood.

  After giving her a thorough examination, the doctor had pronounced her very lucky indeed, as she was fine aside from the bump on her head.

  Crawford's relief had been palpable, and if Sapphire had ever doubted his love for her before, she now knew with every ounce of her being that he truly cared for her as much as he claimed to.

  In fact, for an entire week following the incident, he had almost been like her shadow, reluctant to even let go of her hand, until she'd turned on him in exasperation.

  "Did I miss something? Are you still the deputy sheriff? Or did you somehow, without my knowledge, hand in your badge in order to spend your every waking moment clucking over me like a mother hen?"

  He had narrowed his heartbreaking grey eyes. "Don't take that tone with me, young lady. Or else you know what will happen."

  "At last, a glimpse of the Deputy Slade I fell in love with!" Then, feeling bad, she had softened her tone. "I know you were almost out of your mind with worry. And I know you love me. But please, please, you need to stop treating me as though I were a raw egg. That man…" she swallowed hard at the memory of Joe Harris, "is dead. You killed him. And now I am in no more danger than any of the other women in this town. If anything, I'm safer, because everyone knows that the deputy would kill to protect me. He already has." She paused to kiss his rigid jaw. "I love you. I want to spend as much time with you as I can. But what with you, and Madame Jewel, and Nettie, not to mention Mr. Gabe and the other gems hovering around me every minute of every day, I feel like I might go insane! I just want to forget what happened, and let everything go back to normal."

  There had been a pause while he considered her words. Then, "All right. I suppose Jebediah would be quite happy to have me back at work."

  "And I'd be quite happy for you to go." She gave him her most mischievous smile. "After all, if you're always right beside me, I'll never have a chance to miss you."

  "Such a little minx, always knowing exactly what to say to make me smile… or to want you more."

  "Speaking of which," she'd said, closing her eyes as his hand roamed down to cup her buttock through her skirts, "I want you to stop being so gentle with me all the time. I miss…" To her shame, she had blushed. "I miss your dark side. I miss what you do to my body."

  "Oh, God, I miss it, too. I just didn't want to frighten you. Bring back any memories, or feel like I was rushing you, or—"

  She had cut off his words with her mouth on his, and he had set about making love to her with all the savage, primal passion she had been longing for, until her backside, throat, breasts, thighs, and even her sex ached from his attentions.

  Smiling to herself at the memory, Sapphire tightened her corset and set about slicking the shimmer of blue on her eyelids. It was to be her first night back at work, and she was looking forward to it tremendously. Madame Jewel had been insistent that she take at least a fortnight to recover, and even though Saph had used the time to move her things into her new room on the first floor, and spent every moment they had when Crawford wasn't working in bed with him, she had been going stir crazy. She had missed the hustle and excitement of the saloon. She had missed seeing Charlie at the piano, his skill and Emelie's piercingly sweet voice encouraging even the most non-musical patrons to take a turn on the dance floor. And she had missed her friends.

  There was a knock at the door. "Come in," she called, fastening a blue velvet ribbon around her neck.

  The next moment, Craw
ford strode in. As always, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, with his dark hair flopping over his forehead, his piercing eyes focused intensely on her, and his tall, muscular body only enhanced by his suit.

  "I thought you were working tonight," she said, getting to her feet. "I'm… getting ready." She gestured down at her still bare legs, devoid of stockings or skirts, thinking how strange it was that the last time he had walked in on her in such a situation, she had felt so shy in his presence. Whereas now, there was not an inch of her body he hadn't seen… touched… tasted.

  Crawford didn't reply. Instead, he prowled towards her and dropped to one knee.

  "Oh, God," she croaked, watching as, as if in slow motion, he reached into the pocket of his waistcoat and removed a small box. "You're not—"

  "Hush," he growled. "I'm nervous enough. Please don't say one more word until I'm done."

  Sapphire nodded, her heart in her mouth as he cleared his throat, then opened the little box to reveal the most beautiful ring. On a slender band of gold, two dainty diamonds sat on either side of a dark blue, glittering sapphire.

  "I love you, Ada Madsen," he began. "Sapphire. My sweet, beautiful Sapphire. I want to thank you for changing my life. You took a sullen, unworthy, guilt-ridden man, and taught him how to live again. How to smile. You helped me to realize that even my darkest side has a purpose—to pleasure you, as it turns out."

  She was unable to prevent a giggle as he gave her a sly wink.

  "Now that I have you, I can't imagine my life without you in it. Would you do me the greatest honor and become my wife?"

  Her heart overflowing with love, Sapphire reached for the ring with a trembling hand and slid it onto her finger. Then she looked into Crawford's pleading, searching eyes, and winked right back at him.

  "Make me."

  The End

  Tabitha Black

  USA Today bestselling author Tabitha Black has been writing erotic spanking fiction for over a decade, mostly in the ageplay and historical genres. More recently, she's discovered the joys of writing more contemporary, edgier books with a greater emphasis on BDSM – one of which, Sharing Silver, has been nominated for a Golden Flogger award and won the Spanking Romance Reviews award for best ménage 2015.

  Having lived in four countries on three different continents, and been an active participant in her local kinky communities, she likes to "write to discover what she knows". Her own personal kinks include anything and everything to do with spanking, fireplay, edge play, scarification, age-play, and too many more to count. Some girls like wood, some adore leather, but Tabitha is partial to big, shiny, ornate knives… nothing else makes her quite as weak at the knees.

  She lives in Europe with her Daddy/Sir, and a lilac cat who likes to sneeze in her face. She has a weakness for great cappuccino; strong, dominant, kind but brutally sadistic men (and counts herself amazingly lucky to have found one in real life); brilliant books, and tattoos.

  Tabitha loves getting mail, so if you want to drop her a line, please do so at tabitha_black@hotmail.com. You can also check out her website here, follow her on Twitter @BlushingTabitha, Instagram, or join her Facebook page. Thank you for reading!

  Don't miss these other exciting books by Tabitha Black and Blushing Books!

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  Educating Eva: Silverlake Priory Book One

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  Fulfilling Her Fantasy (Masters of the Castle Novella)

  Sharing Silver (Masters of the Castle)

  Confessions of a Spanking Author (Anthology)

  Hero To Obey (Anthology)

  Restraint - His Empire Book 1

  Sapphire's Surrender – The Red Petticoat Saloon

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  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  EBook Offer

  Blushing Books Newsletter

  Blushing Books