In Your Arms

by Goings, Rebecca

Covering his hand with hers, Melissa’s expression changed to concern. “Are you hurt?”

  “Just my pride. He knew everything that’s gone on between us, and he also told me something else. Seems I’m not the only one with secrets, sugar.”

  Blushing hotly, Melissa looked away, but he hooked his finger under her chin and turned her face back to him.

  “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  “Marcus, I… I’m pregnant. We made a baby.”

  “Do you know what that means?” he whispered.

  She shook her head.

  Running his hand through her hair, he said, “It means that no other man is going to call you his wife, and no other man is going to raise our child. I told you I’d never marry, but I made that decision before I met you, Lissa. You’re the only woman who could have convinced me to change my mind.”

  She shuddered in his arms, caressing his face and marveling in the feel of his stubble against her palm.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, her voice cracking. “I want you to be sure before you--”

  His answer was to interrupt her with a kiss. Melissa whimpered in the back of her throat and felt Marcus leaning her back into the dirt. He supported her head with his hand, never breaking the kiss as his tongue slid over hers. She opened her legs to allow him to rest comfortably on top of her.

  Marcus was in love with her! He wanted to marry her! Melissa’s thoughts whirled as she kissed him back, feeling the familiar need of desire spiraling through her. It had been far too long since she’d felt his skin against hers, and she dug her fingers in his hair to hold him close.

  “Baby, it’s been too long,” he groaned, somehow reading her thoughts.

  She felt him bunching her skirts up her legs and said, “What are you doing?”

  “I can’t wait, Lissa. I can’t wait.” His voice sounded strained as he kissed and sucked on her neck.

  She smiled, tracing his exposed ear with the tip of her tongue. “You’re getting my dress dirty.”

  “Do you care?”

  Excitement shot through her as she reached between them to unbutton his jeans.

  “Not in the least, Mr. McCaide,” she teased.

  “Lissa… Lissa stop!” His sharp tone startled her.

  “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

  “No, sugar. God, no, but if you keep touching me like that, this isn’t gonna last very long.”

  A slow smile of understanding spread upon her face. Raising her hands from his jeans, she slipped them underneath his shirt to stroke his soft skin.

  He sucked in his breath. “That’s not much better, honey.”

  “Then hurry up,” she told him boldly. “Because I’m not going to stop touching you.”

  He kissed her hard at that admission, groaning into her mouth when her hands found his nipples. When he was finally free from his jeans, he plunged forcefully into her.

  “Marcus!” Melissa cried out, raising herself up to meet him. “Oh, God, Marcus! I love you!”

  “I love you too, sugar,” he murmured through his kisses. “And you’re mine. All mine.”

  She moaned, swirling upward with each thrust, losing herself in his possession.

  “You belong in my arms, Lissa.”

  “In your arms,” she agreed breathlessly.

  “I’m never letting you go, sugar. Never.”

  The world suddenly shattered into a kaleidoscope of fragmented colors as Melissa rode out the waves of ecstasy with the man she loved.

  ~ * ~

  As night fell, they made a rudimentary camp by laying out a blanket on the ground and allowing Pete to wander free. Marcus didn’t have much more than a few strips of dried beef in his saddlebags, but at least his canteen was full. After eating the food, Melissa lounged naked against him and sighed with contentment, sliding her leg along his. The stars twinkled down on them as she snuggled close.

  “It’s so peaceful out here,” he said, his deep voice thrumming through her. His rough fingers caressed her arm as he gazed toward the sky, his other arm tucked underneath his head. “Your father said you’d give me peace. I guess he was right.”

  Melissa leaned up and rested on her elbow, looking down on him. “He said that?”

  “Yes.”

  She blushed, and even in the dim light, she saw him smile at her.

  “He also said that if I wanted you, I’d have to fight for you tooth and nail.”

  “Guess you took his words to heart.” She grinned, tracing circles on his bare chest. “You stole me from my own wedding for pity’s sake.”

  Giving her a wicked smile, Marcus grabbed her arms and rolled on top of her. “Ah, but aren’t you glad you’re spending your wedding night with me instead of old Dr. Newcomb?”

  Trying not to chuckle, she ran her fingers through his soft hair and whispered, “I’m not convinced yet, Mr. McCaide. I think you may just have to spend all night convincing me.”

  “Is that so?” He cocked a brow at her.

  “It is,” she said, gasping at the feel of his fingers teasing her nipples.

  “Then it will be my pleasure, Miss Bloom, to convince you beyond the shadow of a doubt.”

  As he spoke, his hand wandered down her flat belly and began playing on the soft flesh of her womanhood.

  Arching her back, Melissa moaned and tried to pull his head down to her. “I definitely need to compare kisses.”

  Suddenly, Marcus stopped his erotic caress to pin her with his gaze. The lines of his body went rigid as he glared down at her. His voice was soft, but harsh nonetheless.

  “That old man kissed you?”

  Smacking his shoulder, Melissa couldn’t help but laugh. “No!”

  She laughed harder at the look of consternation on his face.

  “It’s not nice to tease a man like that, sugar,” he growled. “Thought for a minute I’d have to kill him.”

  Still chuckling, Melissa circled his neck with her arms. “You’re the only one who’s ever touched me, Marcus. I’m all yours.”

  “Damn right,” he said, grinning himself as he lowered his mouth to hers.

  Nineteen

  Early the next morning, Melissa woke and shivered at the slight chill in the air as she rolled away from Marcus. Sleeping soundly next to her, he lay there with one arm stretched above his head and the other tucked around her. She had to smile at the picture he presented, so very tired yet satisfied at the same time.

  He’d been insatiable the previous night. Just when she’d think he might roll over and fall asleep, he would return to her with renewed vigor, claiming he hadn’t had enough of her yet. And she hoped he never would. Being loved by Marcus McCaide had to be the most wonderful feeling in the world.

  Standing from their makeshift bed, Melissa searched the dirt for her discarded chemise and drawers, still self-conscious about her body around Marcus regardless of all they’d shared. She wandered over to the babbling creek a few yards away where she took a few sips of the cool water and sighed happily. She was just about to move behind a bush to relieve herself when she heard a twig snap behind her, followed closely by the sound of a hammer being cocked.

  “Well, what do we have here, Joe?”

  Whirling around with a scream in her throat, Melissa found her mouth covered by a large hand before she could utter a sound. Fear gripped her heart as she stared into the dusky grey eyes of the man who held her. Another man stood a few feet away with his gun trained on her.

  “Ooh, but you’re a pretty one,” her captor said. “And nearly unwrapped too!”

  The one she could only assume was Joe began to snicker as a third man emerged from the thick brush near the creek. He was tall and intimidating, with eyes that were sunken and dark as if he’d ridden all night without sleep.

  “Looks like you and your lover were dallying for a spell by the creek--right, little lady?” the man said with a sneer.

  Her mouth was still covered, so she could do nothing but look at him, her body trembling as
she willed Marcus to wake up. But the tall man’s next words told her it was too late.

  “If you go for those guns, mister, I’ll fill your lady full of lead.”

  Chancing a glance at him, Melissa saw Marcus naked and on his knees, appearing to be reaching for his gun belt.

  “If you do that,” Marcus snarled, “you won’t live to see another day.”

  “You might be right,” the scruffy man agreed as he nodded. “But, then again, neither would she.” With his words, he lifted a lock of her unbound red hair up to his nose and inhaled its scent.

  Melissa tried to wrench away, but the man holding her had arms of steel as she jerked this way and that, his putrid breath assaulting her nostrils.

  “We gonna have some fun with his gal, Dean?” he asked.

  The taller man appeared to think it over before a slow, chilling smile spread across his face. “I don’t see why not. She’s already pleasured one man. She can pleasure us too. Right, boys?”

  Melissa’s eyes bulged out of her head, and she thrashed all the more but only succeeded in getting her face slapped by the man called Dean.

  “Leave now and no one gets killed,” Marcus said in a quiet voice, yet his face was as hard as granite. Still on his knees, he looked as if he were ready to dive for his guns at any second.

  Dean laughed. “You’ve got guts, boy. Gotta admire you for that, but this little gal of yours is coming with us, you see. It’s been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of burying myself between a woman’s thighs. Damn, I’m getting hard just thinking about it.”

  “You touch her and I’ll kill you!”

  “Not if you’re dead first, cowboy.”

  Marcus leapt for his guns, but, as fast as lightning, Dean aimed and pulled the trigger. The loud shot echoed through the hills. When the smoke cleared, Melissa could see Marcus lying face down on the blanket, blood already pooling across the coarse wool.

  Screaming and thrashing as hard as she could, Melissa felt tears falling from her eyes at the sight. In her struggles, she managed to bare her teeth and bit the hand that held her mouth, shrieking at the top of her lungs when he released her with a yelp.

  “Marcus! MARCUS, NO!”

  Dean twirled his gun and smacked her hard on the head with the butt of it. Darkness suddenly overtook her.

  ~ * ~

  “Christ Almighty!”

  Marcus moaned at the sound and turned over on the blanket with a grimace, squinting at the bright sunlight bearing down on him.

  “What in God’s name happened here?”

  Gasping for breath, Marcus closed his eyes and tried to focus on sitting up once more. He had succeeded in fumbling his way into his jeans, but not before falling over at the exertion. His shirt was torn to shreds as he had ripped it to bandage his wound, but now the world was spinning again, and his left side felt as if someone were jabbing him with a hot poker.

  “Can you hear me boy?”

  Marcus’s eyes finally focused on the horrified face of Chuck Bloom. “How do you keep finding me?” He groaned again before he sat up with some help from Chuck’s outstretched hand.

  Waving his hand and making a face, Chuck said, “I used to be a bounty hunter, but that’s not important. What the hell happened here, McCaide? Did she shoot you? Where’s Lissa?”

  Hissing through his teeth, Marcus stood and hobbled over to Pete, who chuffed at him and tossed his head, apparently sensing his master’s mood.

  “They took her, Chuck. Those bastards took her!”

  “Who?”

  “Brigands, thieves--I don’t know and I don’t care. But I’m gonna find her if it damn well kills me.”

  Crying out as he lifted the saddle, he felt hot tears in his eyes. He was hurting bad, but his physical pain was nothing compared to the terror in his heart for Lissa. All sorts of gruesome scenes played out in his head as he struggled to quickly saddle his horse.

  “You’re in no condition to go after her, son!” Chuck barked as Marcus reached for the bridle on the ground. “You need a doctor.”

  “No! I’m not going to leave her with those men, and you, sir, aren’t going to stop me!”

  “Leave them to me,” Chuck said, a dark cloud passing in front of his features.

  “No offense, Chuck, but you’re going to need some help to fight those men. There are three of them, and they’re well-armed and know how to use their guns.” Huffing, Marcus held on to his waist a moment before continuing his task.

  “I noticed,” Chuck said sourly. “Look, you obviously can’t go alone either. I’m coming with you. You’ll need a tracker.”

  Marcus nodded, his skin already damp with a sheen of sweat. Once Pete was ready, he needed Chuck’s help to swing up into the saddle.

  “Better not lag behind, old man. I’m not waiting for you.”

  Chuck mounted his own horse and gave him a resentful glare. “You just try to keep up with me, McCaide.” With that, he turned his horse and began to trot away, his eyes intent on the tracks in the dirt.

  Uttering a curse, Marcus urged Pete to follow, silently praying that Melissa wouldn’t be hurt. If those men so much as laid a hand on her, they would pay. And they would pay nice and slow.

  Twenty

  When Melissa awoke, it was already late in the day. She was flung over the side of a horse like a sack of potatoes. Her hands and feet were bound as well as her mouth. She shook her head to clear it, but that was a mistake. Her head seemed to explode with pain, and she knew she had a knot the size of Texas on the back of it.

  Biting the dirty bandanna in her mouth, she felt tears of hopelessness fall from her eyes as her memories returned to her in a rush. They’d shot Marcus--the bastards had shot him! If he wasn’t dead already, the amount of blood he’d have lost by now surely would have killed him. Low moans escaped her as she watched the ground slide by a few feet from her face.

  “I think she’s awake, Dean.”

  Her horse stopped, and Melissa cried out as Dean yanked her head back by her hair. His dark eyes searched hers, and he smiled cruelly.

  “So it would seem,” he whispered, making her shiver.

  Melissa didn’t know what these men had in mind, but she had a good idea. And there was nothing she could do to stop them. The only thing she could possibly do was bide her time and wait for a chance to escape.

  “Well, I reckon we’ve traveled far enough for one day,” Dean said. “Let’s make camp and have some fun, boys!”

  The other two men scrambled off their horses then led them to a nearby patch of trees.

  “You listen to me, missy, and you listen well,” Dean hissed, still holding her head up by her hair. “You’re going to pleasure us tonight, tomorrow, and the next day. Until we tire of you. If you’re a good girl, we’ll leave you near a town when we’re through. Otherwise…”

  He fingered the handle of the gun on his hip and smiled at the terror in her eyes.

  “If you try to escape, I’ll kill you. If you fight, I’ll kill you. You got that?”

  Melissa’s entire body trembled with fear. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been able to draw a breath.

  “You got that?” he growled when he didn’t get an answer, shaking her head and twisting her hair brutally.

  Whimpering, Melissa managed to nod, knowing full well that her fear shone in her eyes. It seemed to excite this man all the more to know she was afraid of him.

  He took a knife from his pocket and unfolded it, then he cut the ropes that held her onto their extra horse. When he let go of her hair, she slid off the horse’s back to the ground, falling hard on her backside and knocking the wind out of her.

  She didn’t try to get up. She sat there and cried, wanting desperately to flee as Dean moved around the horse to collect her, but she feared the consequences if she did. Grabbing her by the rope that tied her wrists in front of her, he dragged her to her feet and pulled her toward the clearing where the other men now sat.

  “Boys, go rustle up
something for dinner.”

  “But--” Joe began.

  “Do it!” Dean commanded, glaring at the men as if daring them to argue further. “I get her first.”

  The other men glared at him but said nothing as they stalked away. Dean tossed her to the ground and smiled at the squeal of fright she gave.

  “Remember what I told you, missy,” he said as he unfastened his gun belt to drop it on the ground. “Don’t fight me.”

  Melissa’s terror grew as she watched him unfasten his jeans. She couldn’t let him do this! She had to get away. Glancing around on the ground, she found a small rock near her and picked it up in her bound hands, throwing it at him as hard as she could.

  It hit him square in the face, making him stagger back with a cry of surprise. Cursing foully, he turned back to Melissa, who was trying to crawl away despite her bonds. He reached her in two strides. Grabbing the front of her chemise, he pulled back his closed fist and hit her hard in the face. Melissa fell dazed in the dirt. She could do nothing but lie there as the world spun in circles around her.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” he panted as he turned her onto her back. “I was gonna be gentle, missy. Give you something to enjoy. Now I’m just gonna take you hard. And your tears won’t stop me, so cry all you want.”

  Moaning in defeat, Melissa stared at the late afternoon sky, feeling him frantically ripping off her drawers. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks into her hair as she lay underneath him, futilely pushing against his chest. He was determined to rape her and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

  ~ * ~

  It took all of Marcus’s strength stay on his horse, but he held his reins ruthlessly and continued to trail after Chuck as the older man followed the tracks.

  “We’re close,” Chuck murmured.

  It was already late in the day. The more time that passed made Marcus pray that Melissa was all right. He could only hope the men who’d taken her hadn’t defiled her in any way. He shuddered at the thought, but it was altogether possible that she’d already been raped.

  A black rage filled him, and he knew damn well that if they’d forced themselves on her, he would kill each and every one of them without mercy. He cried at the thought of his beautiful Lissa writhing in pain under them as they took their pleasure in her warm depths. Kicking Pete into a faster gate, he rode up alongside of Chuck.