by Connie Mason
Her words touched something deep and inviolate inside him. “You won’t be sorry,” he vowed. “I’ve never abused a woman and don’t intend to start now.”
She threw her arms around him, pulling him down for her kiss, surprising Chad. Their lips met and melded. His senses whirled as his hands tangled in her hair and he deepened the kiss.
Chad was shocked at the way Sarah’s kisses affected him. He’d worked so hard to feel nothing for Sarah but lust. He knew he’d hungered for Sarah sexually, but hadn’t realized till now that he wanted something deeper than physical pleasure. It scared the daylights out of him.
Chad managed to release the buttons on her bodice and untie the ribbon on her chemise, baring her breasts to his kisses, her soft sighs delighting him. Then he drew a velvet nub of nipple into his mouth. It hardened instantly, deliciously sweet and enticing. He suckled her, absorbing her warmth, her femaleness, her very essence. He cradled her breasts and pressed them together, burying his face in their sweet crevice. He felt the pounding of her heart and knew that his matched it.
“Help me,” Chad whispered, tugging at her clothing. Sarah obliged, lifting her shoulders then her hips as her dress and underclothes were stripped away. Then he stood up and tore off his own clothing, tossing them to the floor.
Sarah watched him from beneath lowered lids, admiring the latent power and masculine beauty of his naked form. His legs were long and perfectly sculpted. His hips were slim and his torso broad and impressive. His stomach was ridged with corded muscles. Even in the dim light she could see a fine dusting of brown hair on his arms and legs. She’d never initiated sex in her life, but now it seemed the right thing to do. She held out her arms to him but Chad didn’t move into them immediately.
“I want to look at you first You’re beautiful.”
His gaze traveled the length of her lithe curves, coming to rest on the dark mound at the junction of her thighs. He had dreamed of her like this, her yielding body flushed with passion, soft, voluptuous, welcoming him in every way.
With a groan of surrender he came down on her. His mouth found hers. Within seconds she was responding to the urgent demands of his lips, her tongue sparring with his, her mouth clinging with quiet desperation.
Beneath his touch her breasts swelled, and her nipples hardened. He heard her whimper and understood her need as he lowered his mouth and suckled the stiffened crests. His hands and lips were everywhere at once. Her back, her buttocks, her trembling thighs. He pressed kisses along her shoulders, her breasts, her stomach. He nudged her legs apart, his warm breath whispering over her most intimate place. Then his mouth touched her there and she arched up against him.
“Please, Chad.”
“I want to be sure you’re ready, sweetheart,” Chad said in a voice made husky with desire. His sex was heavy, primed to burst, but still he held back. He wanted to make this memorable for Sarah, to banish all those bad memories of her first time.
His caressing hand moved over the curve of her abdomen, trailing through the dark curls, touching her moist flesh below. His thumb rubbed across the tiny nub at the entrance to her sex, and when his fingers found her secret place, Sarah tried unsuccessfully to hold back a scream.
She’s tight, Chad thought, testing her with his fingers. If he’d had doubts about her celibacy these past few years, they were quickly dispelled. She couldn’t be having sex regularly and be this tight. His fingers teased, sliding inside her with slow, deep strokes.
Sarah gave a long, drawn-out sigh.
“I’m going to come inside you now, Sarah. You’re tight, so it might hurt. That’s why I spent so much time preparing you.”
Sarah was past caring. She wanted him. All of him. And she wanted him now. She felt the moisture gathering between her legs and knew she was as ready as she’d ever be. She arched up against him in blatant invitation and he accepted, pressing inside her slowly but surely. She felt herself stretching to accommodate him. There was a moment of discomfort but it wasn’t painful. The delicious sliding friction quickly created an inferno within her.
When Chad realized he wasn’t hurting Sarah, his relief was enormous. Flexing his hips, he pressed deep, filling her with himself. She was hot, tight, and wet, challenging his control.
“Don’t move,” he warned as she shifted her hips beneath him. His breathing was shallow, his muscles taut as he fought to master the instinctive need to spill himself.
“What is it?” Sarah asked, frowning.
“I don’t want this to end too soon. I promised you pleasure and you’re going to get it. Hang on, sweetheart, we’re going for one helluva ride.”
Clutching his shoulders, Sarah clung to him. He felt his muscles tremble beneath her hands, stunned by his response to her touch. Her hips arched upward, driving him more deeply. He gazed down at her and saw a look of pure joy on her face.
Sarah never dreamt such ecstasy was possible as waves of pleasure broke over her. This was nothing like the terrible act that had remained in her memory all these years. This was bliss, pure and simple, yet she knew there was more and she strained to find it. She heard herself pleading with him as her body raced out of control, heard Chad’s voice in her ear, whispering encouragement as he thrust and withdrew in long, piercing strokes. And then she felt the slow tide of pleasure washing over her, sweeping her into a whirlpool of churning sensations. She cried out his name, dimly aware of his culmination—that one deep thrust that brought him to climax, sending his seed spilling into her. Moments later he collapsed against her and cradled her in his arms.
Chad pulled a blanket over them and curved himself around her body. Moments later blessed sleep claimed them. Shortly before daybreak Sarah drifted into wakefulness. She cuddled closer to Chad, warm and no longer lonely. She felt loved. Oh, yes, definitely loved, even if it was lust driven. Sarah was no fool. She knew where she stood with Chad. He was a man and men wanted sex with no attachments. He had wanted her, and now that he had taken her he would disappear from her life.
Sarah didn’t regret what had happened between them. She was grateful in a way. Chad had single-handedly proved that pleasure could be obtained from an act she’d once thought ugly and dirty. But she certainly wasn’t going to do this with any other man. Making love with any man but Chad sounded revolting. Her one night of rapture would have to last a lifetime.
Sarah saw nothing but a life of hardship and drudgery in her future. She supposed she’d be the town laundress until the day she died, rejected by her parents even though she led an exemplary, celibate life. She released a long, loud sigh.
“What are you thinking?”’
Sarah started violently. She had no idea Chad was awake. “Nothing important.”
“Are you regretting what we did?”
“No,” she said, giving him a quick smile. “I was just thinking about my future.”
He pulled her into his arms, wanting somehow to comfort her. Taking her back to Carbon was the last thing on his mind now. He wanted her again. Once was not enough. The way he felt now it would never be enough. Sarah was still such an innocent Awakening her to passion had been a profound experience. There was something sweetly vulnerable and terribly appealing about Sarah Temple, and that made her dangerous. He didn’t want to feel anything for Sarah except lust, and right now he was feeling plenty of that.
Sarah snuggled against him, content just to lie there and remember all those wonderful feelings Chad had aroused in her. Then she felt the hard ridge of his sex stirring against her stomach and she stared at him in surprise. His cheeky grin sent heat spiraling through her veins, a seething warmth that brought back provoking memories. Memories she wouldn’t mind revisiting.
Chad apparently sensed her thoughts for he pressed her more tightly against his hardening body. His hand stole beneath the blanket to caress her. She sighed, her hips moving in languid rhythm to his caresses. This time there was no long foreplay, no slow arousal. They came together in heat and passion and wild need. Mouths fused
, bodies melded, they rode the crest together. Chad locked his arms around her and thrusted uncontrollably. The shattering force of his passion seared her as he spilled himself inside her. She writhed against him, shuddering, finding her own fulfillment at the same instant Chad reached his.
Chad rolled away and collapsed beside Sarah, staring at the ceiling. The thin gray light of early morning bathed the shack’s meager furnishings in dirty shadows, making Chad wish he could have found a better place to introduce Sarah to passion. The hard ground beneath the moon and stars would have been better than this, but he seriously doubted he could have waited. That’s how desperately he’d wanted Sarah.
“Why are you frowning?” Sarah asked.
“This is a damn poor place to make love for the first time. This shack can’t have good memories for you.”
“You made new memories.” She slid her feet over the side of the bed. “Abner will be up soon. It wouldn’t do for him to find us in bed together. I’ll fix breakfast if you build a fire in the hearth.”
Chad pulled on his underwear and bent to tend to the fire. Sarah hastily donned her shift and poured water from a pail into a bowl so she could wash. By the time Chad had a fire going, she had bathed and dressed.
“I’ll wash, shave, and dress outside,” Chad said, gathering up the rest of his clothing. “Then I’ll tend to the horses.”
Sarah watched him, heat flushing her cheeks as he moved about the cabin. He seemed at ease and totally comfortable with his near nakedness as he gathered his discarded clothes. He must have sensed her eyes on him for he turned to smile at her. Sarah quickly looked away, but not before she saw his sex stir and harden beneath his drawers.
“Reckon I’d better get out of here,” Chad said, glancing down with a grin. “Next time you’ll think twice about looking at me like that.”
Sarah’s mouth fell open, but before she could form a retort Chad had already walked out the door. What was wrong with her? she wondered. She had granted Chad what she’d denied every other man and had thoroughly enjoyed it. Her thoughts skittered to a halt when Abner came bounding down the stairs from the attic.
After breakfast, Chad collected the weapons in the cabin so Jackson wouldn’t claim them should he decide to return. During his search he found the money from the Medicine Bow bank robbery.
“We’ll drop this off in Medicine Bow,” he said as he packed the money and weapons in his saddlebags. By the time he finished, Sarah and Abner were ready to go.
Chad lifted Abner in front of him on the saddle and Sarah rode the horse she had borrowed from the Barlows. She hoped they would forgive her for taking him without asking first and was relieved that she’d be able to return him in good shape.
For a disquieting moment, Sarah recalled the intimacies she’d shared with Chad last night. In the light of day her wanton behavior embarrassed her, yet she didn’t regret it. How could she when Chad had given her such pleasure?
“You seem lost in thought,” Chad said when he held back to ride beside her.
Sarah flushed and looked away. There was no way she was going to tell Chad she had been recalling their lovemaking and the profound affect it had on her. It was unlikely she’d ever be with Chad again. Once he took her home he’d leave her and never look back. It was a mystery why he’d followed her, but she suspected it was because he wanted the reward for Freddie Jackson. Jackson had been his motivation from the beginning.
“Are you by any chance reliving last night?” Chad asked when a long silence ensued.
“No,” Sarah was quick to deny. “I was wondering what the Barlows would say when I returned their horse.” It wasn’t exactly the truth but it would have to suffice. She’d never admit her thoughts were so filled with Chad that she could think of little else.
“Well find out soon enough. Medicine Bow is up ahead. By nightfall well be in Carbon”
Sarah and Abner waited outside the bank while Chad returned the money. It hadn’t taken them long to come down Elk Mountain. It surprised Sarah that Freddie’s hideout had been so close to town.
“I’m hungry,” Abner complained when Chad came out of the bank. “Is it lunchtime yet?”
Chad laughed and ruffled Abner’s blond curls. “I reckon we can find an eating house in this town. I can use a decent meal myself.”
An hour later, their stomachs full, they continued on to Carbon. Chad had learned in town that the vigilantes were still hunting for Jackson and he sincerely hoped they found him. It bothered him to think that Jackson might return to Carbon looking for Sarah and Abner and tried not to let it matter. He had better things to do than hang around the mining town, waiting for Jackson to show up. He had done his duty where Sarah was concerned, now it was time he got on with his life. Sticking around Carbon was dangerous to him in more ways than one.
Chad worried that he was becoming terribly fond of Sarah and Abner. He had too many dark memories complicating his life. Until he came to grips with the traumatic events that had sent him fleeing from his home, he had nothing to offer a woman. He was empty, a mere shell of the man he once was. Deep in his heart Chad knew he wasn’t responsible for what happened, but those brooding demons inside him wouldn’t give him peace.
Sarah felt a sense of desperation as she rode into Carbon. The town held so many bad memories for her. The thought of returning to her old backbreaking job of taking in laundry sent her spirits plummeting. But what else was there for her? She was an outcast, and she was resolved to that, but it was Abner she felt sorry for. The boy deserved so much better than she could give him.
Carbon looked even more somber and unremarkable than usual as they rode down the main street. Coal dust clung to the rooftops like a thick cloud, clogging their throats and burning their eyes. Sarah didn’t remember the town looking so shabby, but she’d never been in the mountains before, breathing clean, unpolluted air.
“We’re here,” Chad said, reining in before her shack.
“I’m going to return the Barlows’ horse,” Sarah said. “I feel so guilty about taking him. Would you take Abner inside? I’ll be back soon. If you can stay awhile, I’ll fix supper for us when I return.”
Sarah didn’t wait for his answer. Whatever Chad decided, she’d accept. She owed him more than she could ever repay and was determined to ask nothing more from him.
Carrie Barlow answered the door, her eyes widening when she saw Sarah standing on the doorstep. “Sarah, come in! Where in the devil have you been? I was worried about you when Mr. Delaney said you were missing. Would you like some coffee?”
Sarah stepped into the noisy room crowded with children engaged in various activities. “I can’t stay, Carrie. I’ve got a confession to make and I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Carrie frowned. “Forgive you? Whatever for?”
“I took your horse. But don’t worry, I brought him back. He’s just fine. I left him in the shed out back.”
“You took our horse?” Carrie asked, dumbfounded. “Why would you do a thing like that? Charlie will be so relieved to have him back.”
“I desperately needed a horse, Carrie, and yours was handy. Abner was kidnaped by his father and I had to follow. I feared I’d never see my son again if I waited too long to go after him. That’s why I didn’t rouse you from bed to ask permission. I couldn’t waste time on explanations. Please forgive me.”
“Of course. Do you want to tell me about it?”
“I’m not proud of my association with Abner’s father. It’s a story best left untold. I have Abner back, that’s all that matters.”
“Did that nice Mr. Delaney help you? I think he’s sweet on you. He seemed so concerned when you were hurt.”
“He held himself responsible for my accident,” Sarah explained. “He merely did what his conscience demanded.”
And he wanted the reward for capturing Freddie Jackson, Sarah thought but did not say.
“About Abner’s father,” Carrie began, curious about the man Sarah had never mentioned before.
>
“I don’t wish to talk about him,” Sarah said curtly. “I’m sorry, Carrie, but Abner’s waiting for me. I have to leave. We’ll talk more later. I’m really sorry about taking your horse.”
Sarah left before Carrie’s curiosity brought questions Sarah didn’t want to answer. Chad was still there when she returned to her shack. He and Abner were searching the cupboards for something to eat.
“You stayed,” Sarah said, feeling foolish for making such an obvious statement.
“Yeah,” he said succinctly. He’d been doing a lot of thinking on the ride back to Carbon. He didn’t like the conclusion he’d arrived at but no other solution was available.
“You and Abner can wait in the parlor while I fix us something to eat. It won’t be fancy but it will fill our stomachs.” She took stock of her empty cupboards and shook her head. “I hope my former customers will return with their laundry. I’m going to need the money.”
Her words served only to reinforce Chad’s decision. He would present it to Sarah after they’d eaten and Abner was put to bed. Sarah might put up an argument but he was determined to have his way. He was too fond of Abner, and yes, dammit, too fond of Sarah to leave her to the likes of Freddie Jackson.
After a supper of beans, bacon, and biscuits, Abner’s head began to droop. Sarah hustled him off to bed and returned to the kitchen to do the dishes. Chad sat at the table, sipping his coffee.
“We need to talk, Sarah.”
“About what? If it’s about what happened last night, forget it. I don’t regret it, nor do I expect anything from you. You saved me and Abner, and for that I’ll always be grateful to you.”
A muscle twitched in Chad’s jaw. “Is that why you let me make love to you? Out of gratitude?”
Why should her words disappoint him? Chad wondered. Gratitude was all he wanted from a woman, the most he would accept.
