"A Christmas snow and no more?" Irene questioned, rolling to her side as Sam formed a curl of her hair around his finger.  She had thought, once upon a time...once after Tim had used her hair as a handle---, well, she'd thought to cut it all off at her chin.  Now, she was rather glad she'd kept it long.  "Is there such a perfect place, Sam?" she asked, smiling and watching him from under her lashes as he played with her hair.<br/><br/>Irene looked up as Sam asked if she was sure.  Which part, she wondered.  Revenge or just dropping the whole thing?  Ahhh...of course he wouldn't condone revenge.  "There's no point.  Knowing won't bring him back.  And, I don't honestly owe Tim anything anymore.  Bringing them to justice...well, that's the Marshal's job, right?  I'm willing to give up the reins on this."  Deep down she knew Tim could have planned, taken action to make sure that, should something happen to him, the land would come to her.  But, Tim was selfish and immature; he never thought of dying and he certainly never thought of her-Irene-except when he was the one who needed something.<br/><br/>Irene stopped her drawing on Sam's chest as she started to press her finger a little roughly into his skin.  She drew back her hand, surprised when Sam stroked her arm.  Why hadn't he been the one who'd sent the request for a wife?  Why had it been Tim?  And, why didn't Tim have the balls to fess-up and tell her he loved another, why let her find out on her own, make her be the laughing stock of the town?  Her stomach roiled at the memories and only Sam's touch on her arm drew her back.  She turned her head to regard him, smiling as he teased her about "regular" sex and a thousand babies.<br/><br/>He was so much what she needed and everything that she wanted that tears came to her eyes as she thought about it.  "Maybe three or four children," she said.  "Depending.  One to start, of course.  Then, if we don't feel like we want to sell it to the gypsies, maybe another...or two."  She grinned at his list.  He made light that he'd been sent to check on her, but it surely seemed like it to her.  Finding out if there was evidence against her or if it was malarky...that was all about her.  She let it slide as he mentioned the Marshal and the lack of documentation of his being sworn in.<br/><br/>"The marshal's a good man.  Scares me a little, but I've never known him to be unjust.  His methods are hard, maybe.  But, think about what some of these criminals have done; they deserve worse in my book, Sam." She felt and sounded hard, she didn't really care.   And, Sam's kisses seemed to say that he didn't care...or didn't believe her for all her harsh words.<br/><br/>She smiled against his lips, then snuggled against his chest.  It was hot and he was even hotter, but she needed his touch, now.  It salved her abraded soul and made her body feel right nice, too.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Now about moving on...how the heck do we find the perfect place we just conjured up a few moments ago?  This is one big country you know...and if we're to have a thousand children..."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>She laughed...it was a giggle really and shocked her so that she hid her face in his throat.<br/><br/>"Mr. Markham," she said, tilting her head back to look at the man.  "If you insist on teasing me about the number of children produced by our regular sex..." She lifted her left leg to hook over Sam's legs, pulling herself up to him, eyes flashing as she felt him hard against her softness.  "...there'll be hell to pay," she finished, giving Sam a shove an sitting on top of him.  "Hi there, handsome, my name's Hell."  She grinned down at him, staring with her cat eyes as she drank him in.  "Have I mentioned that I love your eyes...your smile...your chin with that deceptively sweet dimple...that's not really a dimple, just a little rut in your chin..."  She stopped teasing him just to look at him.<br/><br/>"We'll know the place when we see it, Sam.  We just need to make a decision, set a date, plan and collect supplies and then get out of Oasis and never, ever look back."  She leaned forward to lick and kiss his throat.  "I think I could do that.  Can you?"<br/>