Lilac Temptress

Chapter 11

Sierra walked home alone that night from the tavern, and now she sat in her bedroom thinking about Kyle. He had been bold enough to flirt with Claudine at the bar tonight while her husband, Trey, sat a few feet away gambling.

Sierra couldn't figure out on her life why young Claudine had married much older Trey in the first place, of course, unless it was for his money. It was commonplace that men often traded the mature woman for young ones. But a married couple was supposed to grow old together, Sierra thought.

Claudine, a pretty petite-blond, nineteen, the same age as Kyle, behaved every bit as reckless as he did. They were clumsy with their encounters.

Frankly, Sierra thought it a vulgar display of Claudine to make passes at Kyle right under her husband's nose.?

Trey was too drunk to notice that Claudine and Kyle had disappeared for a half-hour in the back. But Sierra had seen them, and she became furious.

Kyle, too handsome for his own good, had many girls chasing him. He kept his dirty golden hair long past his shoulders and always held it together with a thin leather cord. His eyes were a brilliant shade of blue, filled with compassionate depth. He donned an irresistible smile that made it hard for anyone to resist him.?

Although outgoing and full of energy, he was also full of himself, unruly, and emotionally immature. Flattered by the affections of women, Kyle never took advantage of them.?

What am I going to do about him? Sierra thought. Eventually, Kyle would suffer the consequences of fooling around with a married woman, but he thought little of it because the most influential man in town was William.?

Kyle is under Wil's protection, and nobody would trouble Wil, right? Sierra tried to convince herself, thinking about her most recent spat with Kyle.

She had privately argued with him in his room upstairs in the tavern. He laughed at her when she told him that he'd gone too far and had better be more cautious in the future.?

She'd cuffed him on the back of his head. His mirth had changed to subdued seriousness, and his eyes had narrowed.

Sierra recalled telling him that she only wanted to protect him. But he accused her of trying to control his life because she lacked one of her own.?

His words had cut her like a blade. He'd known that she'd dedicated an enormous amount of time and effort keeping him out of trouble,as a result failing to fulfill her own dreams.

He looked at her apologetically, telling her that she was his only family and meant more to him than anyone on earth. He promised to let Claudine go. ?

Sierra sighed. Now it was time to let go of her thoughts of Kyle. She rose from her bed and walked into an adjoining room with a bath where she bathed and dressed for sleep, giving in to dreamy thoughts of Drake McCalister, who by now had probably arrived in New Iberia en route to New Orleans.

Getting into bed, she imagined what it might have been like to sleep with Drake. Would she have done things to him?

The brothel women, many of whom she thought of like sisters, had told her about their exploits with men. They'd given her some idea of what a man wanted from a woman in bed.

Sierra giggled to herself. Funny, she thought. Not even living in a brothel had she seen a man completely naked. The only male she'd seen naked had been Kyle, and they were children back then, often skinny dipping in a forest river until the day she ended it, suddenly.

Her body had started changing at ten years old. She remembered feeling ashamed of her breasts when Kyle, two years younger, innocently asked her why they couldn't swim together anymore. By age twelve, she started blossoming into a woman.

She remembered often crying to William's friend, Adrienne Wade, until Adrienne arranged it with William that she move out of the room that she and Kyle shared at the tavern, into a room at the brothel.

William thought the idea absurd, but because Sierra had no mother to explain the changes in her body to her, he agreed with Adrienne that she should look after her. However, William made sure to keep several protectors like Toby on the brothel premises at all times.

Sierra's move down the road had devastated Kyle. But she returned to spend many nights with him until he became accustomed to having a room to himself and didn't want her around anymore.

Goodness, the pleasant distraction of Drake gave way to Sierra worrying over Kyle again. Maybe if Kyle had been more convincing about leaving Claudine, she could stop distressing.

Her only choice now was to convince Claudine to stay away from Kyle. Sierra would have to deal with the problem herself.

* * *

Early the next morning, Sierra left the brothel in search of her brother's lover. She knew that Claudine would be home while husband, Trey, was working at the Stevenson's ranch. After a short walk to Trey's little white house with black shutters, she knocked on the porch door.?

After a few minutes of waiting, Claudine finally answered, donning a pink cotton nightgown, her hair disheveled.?

A scowl marked Claudine's features, but even her sour disposition couldn't erase the loveliness of her visage. Sierra lamented inside, feeling pity for her brother who'd been snared by Claudine's beauty.

"Sierra, what have I done to deserve the pleasure of your company?" Claudine asked in a flat tone, unsurprised as if she'd been expecting Sierra's visit any day. Kyle had told her that Sierra didn't like her, and everyone in town knew Sierra could be a real spitfire when angry.

"I think you know why I'm here." Sierra glared.

"I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway." Claudine yawned, uninterested.

"You're certainly right!" Sierra snapped. "I am going to tell you!"

"Spit it out, I ain't got all day."?

"I want you to stop seeing Kyle," Sierra demanded.?

"Now, why would I do a thing like that?"?

Sierra's vivid anger didn't intimidate Claudine in the least. Sierra wanted to clobber the woman, but instead, she hid her balled her fists in her skirt pockets.?

"You are a married woman. If you keep toying with Kyle this way, you're both going to get caught. I saw you two disappear into the back of the bar last night," Sierra spat out.

"You noticed us? But we didn't head to the back together. I thought Kyle and I were careful.

"Claudine, I will only tell you this once. End it before Trey finds out because it won't be long before others notice. If you don't end it, I'll make your relationship with Kyle insufferable," Sierra promised.

Claudine narrowed her eyes. "You can get off my porch now and don't show your face around here again."?

"I hope I don't have to," Sierra grumbled, before stomping away. She also hoped Claudine understood her loud and clear. But Sierra didn't have any more time to dwell on the matter. She needed to get to the tavern. She hadn't finished putting away yesterday's shipment and wanted to complete the job before noon.

Rushing down the dirt and gravel road, she thought of Kyle and frowned. Claudine was using him for a good time because that's what Kyle was,fun to be around. People liked Kyle,just like her past love, Jason Grant, who was also charming, but he had used her. He'd promised to love her forever, marry her.

Sierra closed her eyes and brushed her unexpected tears away. Jason wasn't even worth a second thought.