Chapter 19
Setting the pen down, Lily looked up to find Cade's dark gaze fastened on her from beneath a heavy shock of black hair. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, a token to signify their marriage. Any more in this public place would almost certainly cause a riot. As it was, a cheer rang out in the back of the room and was taken up as they walked through the crowd and out of the store. Weddings were not an everyday occurrence, and anything out of the ordinary was cause for celebration.
Travis elbowed his way through the crowd to place a hasty peck on Lily's cheek, giving Cade a glare of defiance after he did so. "It's customary to kiss the bride. And I'd suggest you get Lily the hell out of here before they decide a chivaree is in order. Ephraim and I will see that the kids get back home."
Cade might be slow to speak, but he wasn't slow to act. He held out his palm to Travis as a gesture of peace. The other man looked at the offering, glanced at Lily and Roy, and resignedly accepted Cade's hand with a firm shake. For the first time in his life, he was putting someone else before himself.
Without further ado, Cade whisked Lily around the corner and out of sight of the gathering well-wishers.
She wasn't prepared for the swiftness with which all this was happening. She had thought there would be time to adjust to her new status, time with her friends and family around her, time to walk beside Cade through town and pretend he really was her husband like Jim had been.
She had imagined a family dinner at home, a long evening ahead to adjust to the idea that Cade would be joining her later, much later.
She wanted to protest as Cade threw her up on his gelding and joined her, but she was too stunned to say a word. She had worn her blue gingham for the occasion, and she had to sit sideways, clinging to Cade's firm waist as he wheeled the horse out of the paddock and onto the open road.
They flew out of town as if all the devils in hell were after them, but once out of sight, Cade slowed the horse and inquired anxiously, "Are you all right? I wasn't thinking. The child...?"
Lily leaned her head against his back and gasped for breath now that the horse had found a steady pace. She shook her head in answer to his question. "I rode an oxen wagon from Mississippi when I was four months gone with Roy. I am fine."
This was the kind of woman he needed. Cade swelled with a sudden desire to head for the trees and take possession of her in the long grass, but despite her strengths, his wife was a lady. She deserved something better than a grass bed. He didn't have much better to offer, but he would do what he could.
With that in mind, Cade turned the horse from the open road onto the prairie, heading for the distant woods. He sensed Lily's puzzlement, but it was easier to show than explain.
They rode for an hour over increasingly rough terrain as they approached the river. When Cade turned his horse northward, Lily knew they were on her property, but along the extreme boundary. The butterflies in her stomach rapidly became something else as she leaned against the hard musculature of her husband's back. Her husband. For better or worse.
She hadn't forgotten a moment of their night together, and fear mixed with anticipation as they drew closer to his destination. Cade wasn't Jim. He would demand a great deal more from her than a hot meal and a clean house.
They stopped in a small clearing near a babbling brook. The sky was overcast and the pines added to the gloom, but their branches cut off the winter wind, providing the glade with an air of tranquility.
In the center sat a tepee similar to the one Cade had taken Lily to back in the Indian village. As he helped her down from the horse, she stared at it with nervous interest. The heavy buffalo hides were overlaid enough to keep out any wind. With a small fire, it would be wonderfully warm. And solitary.
Cade had ensured that they would have complete privacy for their wedding night. Or day. Lily threw a look to the sun directly overhead. It was only noon. Did he mean to take her to bed at noon?
"Go inside, out of the wind. I will have a fire started soon." Cade gently pushed her in the direction of the tepee.
Lily hesitated, throwing him an uncertain look. "Is it yours?"
Amusement crinkled his eyes as he met the questions in hers. "A tepee is transportable. It is mine. I brought it down from the village some weeks ago."
She wouldn’t question why he had done that. She knew damned well why he had done that. Giving him a sniff of disapproval, Lily turned, threw back the skin covering the doorway, and entered the darkened world that was Cade's only home.
She had reason to remember the soft furs of the buffalo robes covering the dirt floor. Brightly woven blankets sat neatly stacked at the bottom of what she assumed was to be their bed. An assortment of baskets and pottery was gathered to one side as if ready to be used upon the owner's return. Cade could move in here at any time and have all the comforts of home.
He entered, carrying wood for the fire, and the tent was suddenly narrow and confining. He filled the space with his presence, even when he knelt to lay the fire. Standing as far from him as she could, Lily shivered and rubbed her arms. He was the only man she knew who could make her feel small. She wasn't at all certain that she liked the sensation. How did other women accept this feeling of vulnerability?
When the flames flickered into life, Cade stood, measuring his height to hers. He met her gaze gravely before removing Lily's shawl. He folded it in half and laid it beside the baskets. Completely unsure of herself in this setting, Lily remained passive, waiting for his guidance. She felt no fear, only a dreadful uncertainty. She was his wife, but she didn't know him.
Dark eyes held hers as Cade released her hair, and Lily shivered at the intimacy of the gesture. The ribbons slid out easily, and he spread his fingers through her braid, separating it into a cascade of gold in the firelight.
Heated sensations flooded through her. Confronted with Cade's broad chest and towering height and hands that moved like magic, Lily felt lost, as if she had no control over what was happening. As his fingers unfastened the tiny shell buttons of her bodice, his knuckles brushed against her breasts, and her heart pounded so fast she feared it might leap from her chest.
"I have dreamed of how you would look in the daylight, without this burden of cloth." Cade skimmed the gown from Lily's shoulders, tugging the long sleeves loose until they hung from her waist.
Only the thin muslin and ribbons of her best chemise hid her from his gaze. Lily covered herself, but Cade caught her hand and held it to her side. He didn't speak but he didn't have to. His gaze devoured her near-nakedness, and she shivered beneath the intensity.
He released the ties at her waist. Her one petticoat fell unfastened to the floor, followed by the blue gingham. Chill bumps rose up and down Lily's arms, but it wasn't from the cold. The fire heated the confined space, and the opening at the crown of the tent drew the smoke upward.
Cade's hands closed over her shoulders, then slid downward over her arms, drawing her closer. Stiffly, Lily obliged. He was her husband. She would obey.
But obedience had nothing to do with the kiss she fell into when Cade's mouth closed over hers. Lily grabbed his biceps for support as the kiss deepened. When his tongue claimed her mouth, her legs shook and she clung tighter. Desire, hot and heavy, flooded through her, and she returned the kiss with unexpected fever.
Her chemise followed the rest of her garments to the ground. The shock of her bare breasts grinding into the soft cotton of Cade's best shirt as his hands cupped her buttocks stimulated new sensations. Lily ignored the sudden draft across her skin. She was on fire inside.
Cade carried her to the buffalo robe and lay down beside her. Fully dressed, he covered her nakedness with his length. While his hand explored, his mouth implored, filling Lily with his need and extracting hers until all hesitancy had flown, replaced by the same urgency that had overtaken them once before.
Cade jerked his shirt from his pants and pulled it over his head.
The absence of Cade's warmth left Lily fully exposed, bu
t when his shirt joined her clothing on the floor and his gaze etched her skin, she no longer knew embarrassment. The broad brown chest hovering tempted her, and she stroked the muscular planes thus exposed.
As Cade located the moistness between Lily's thighs, he groaned and pressed against her, but he was determined to do this properly this time and bent his attention to her few remaining garments. His hand strayed to her intimate places, making the task more complicated than necessary, but they were both nearly wild with desire by the time he finished.
"Beautiful," Cade murmured as he pulled her down to the furs again, his hand skimming over her breasts and coming to rest at the slight swell of her abdomen. His kiss brushed her lips before suckling at her breast, and her hips lifted in wild abandon, demanding equal attention.
Cade still wore the new buckskin trousers he had donned for the occasion, but he sat up to peel them off now. Lily gasped at the sight of his full nudity, but he didn't give her time to fear. He was over her and between her legs before she could take in the full extent of his size. Bronzed, hair-roughened thighs pushed against her pale soft ones, spreading them as he rubbed against her entrance.
"I don't want to hurt the child. Tell me what I must do to protect it," he demanded.
That simple request opened Lily's heart to him more surely than anything else he could have said. She spread her fingers across the rough squareness of his jaw and met the intensity of his gaze with tenderness.
"The child grows well above where even you can reach. Just be gentle with the child's mother."
His face flushed dark with desire, Cade bent to kiss her. The kiss deepened and enlarged and grew frantic until Lily curled her legs around him and pulled him inside even as he adjusted to the entrance of her body.
This time she could see the bronzed breadth of Cade's chest. She dug her fingers into the thick trunks of his arms as he tried to curb his actions, but the urge was too strong for both of them. With a cry, they wrapped together and thrust and fought until they found the rhythm that multiplied and climbed to a frantic crescendo.
The tension carried her to near madness until the explosion came, shaking them both. Even when the trembling stopped, Lily felt as if she had been reduced to little more than hot ashes. It was done, and she was his. There was nothing else left of her.
Somewhere in the mindless darkness that followed, Cade must have rolled his weight off her. Lily gradually grew aware that she was wrapped in his arms with a blanket pulled to cover their nakedness. She felt the heaviness of his arm around her, the soreness between her legs where even now he stirred, and the utter contentment of lovemaking. It was enough. She closed her eyes and slept.
She woke on her stomach with Cade straddling her legs. His kisses nipped at her ears and throat, and when his hand slid to press the place he had just taught her to respect, Lily rose to allow him entrance. His other hand encompassed her breast, and she gasped with the sudden explosion of desire.
It was incredible what he could do to her. Even as she pumped against him in frantic need, he turned her over and slammed into her, driving her to new heights of desire. It couldn't go on, but she continued to cling even when nothing remained but the hot liquids of their lust.
Cade pulled her against his chest and whispered soft words in Spanish into her ear. Lily recognized some of them, but not all. Perhaps he spoke in Apache. She just knew the sound warmed her heart.
"It's never been like this before," she murmured in wonderment as her hand tracked the broad expanse of Cade's chest. Now that she had time to look, she could see the tattoos of his tribe on the upper part of his arm, and she traced them with her fingers.
"I am glad I do not hurt you." Cade caressed a path down her spine as his breathing slowed.
He had shown her an ecstasy she had never dared imagine, and all he could say was that he was glad he did not hurt her. Lily smiled against his shoulder. They came from such different worlds that they must look at every subject from opposing angles.
"Are we staying here like this all day?" Lily could feel the lower part of him stirring again. She didn't think she had the strength to repeat their performances.
Cade swung her back against the rug and leaned over her. "All day and all night for as long as we can. You have made me wait forever."
Lily frowned as she drew her hand along his chest. He was the same color all over. Perhaps his arms were a little darker. And his throat. She touched him there, learning all she could about him with her fingertips, admiring the contrast of light and dark. "I should have made you wait forever. We know nothing of each other but what we see. We cannot spend the rest of our lives together in bed."
"You worry too much. We have a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. What more can we ask? There will be children and you will teach them as well as you have taught Roy. I will watch over your cattle and see that the herd grows bigger and that we get the best prices for them. Life is very simple."
Lily smacked his arm and tried to sit up. Cade obliged by moving aside and watching her. His hand continued to stray over the fullness of her breasts and occasionally lingered with curiosity over the curve of her abdomen.
"Don't give me your Indian monologue, Cade. That was a Spanish lawbook you were reading. I doubt that there are three men in all of Texas who could read that, much less understand it. You ought to be a lawyer, not a damned cowherder."
"My mother would cringe at your language. You are fortunate that she is dead and I do not have to take you home to meet her."
"That's a stalling tactic if I ever heard one, and I've heard lots of lawyers. How old are you, Cade?"
Perhaps he wasn't distracting her with his attentions, but he was distracting himself. She was even more beautiful than he had imagined. Her legs went on forever, and Cade wanted to feel them around him again. Her hair spread like desert sunshine, and it was even light where he held his hand now. Her breathing grew irregular as he caressed her there, and he watched her lips part and grow moist, though they both ought to have been thoroughly satiated.
"I would say I have seen thirty-two winters. Why?"
Lily had almost lost her train of thought, but she focused on his eyes, reading their intensity, knowing it wasn't all lust. Caution lurked there, and he hid behind it.
"Where have you been for thirty-two years? What have you been doing? You didn't learn to read lawbooks riding Colonel Martin's range."
"The priests taught me those few years I consented to stay with them as a child. I'm a drifter, Lily. Don't make more of me than you see. Unless you wish me to make love to you again, you had better pull that blanket around you. I need to find you something to eat or our child will starve."
Lily ignored the blanket, and in the end, they made love again, slowly this time, drawing the pleasure out until they were weary and exhausted and beyond caring where they were or what they wanted.
It was full dark and the fire had grown cold before they woke. This time, they woke to their new responsibilities as husband and wife. Lily's stomach growled with hunger, and though Cade’s big body kept her warm, the cold penetrated when he moved. She imagined the life growing within her complaining of this treatment, and she reluctantly took Cade's hand as he helped her to stand.
"I will bring water and firewood while you dress. The snares I set should have found rabbit by now. I will be back soon."
Cade pulled on his buckskins and strode out. Lily’s insides lurched at the sight of the bronzed breadth of his back. He was her husband. She had married an Indian. Her sisters would have absolute fits when they found out.
She glanced down at her rounding stomach and smiled. He would give her the children she craved. She would have to spend the time between children worrying about how to prevent them from happening too frequently. She didn't think Cade was likely to tire of coming to her bed anytime soon.
And for some reason, Lily found that thought fully satisfying.
Chapter 20
Standing by their pallet bef
ore they retired for the night, Cade removed a small object from his pocket and, catching Lily's hand, gently twisted it onto her finger, "I meant to give you this when we signed the book. There didn't seem to be an appropriate time."
Lily looked down at the flicker of silver in the firelight. The band was wide and heavy and intricately carved with delicate traceries of dark and light. It looked very Spanish and very old. There was no room for shyness between them anymore, and she met Cade's gaze with the warmth of their astonishing intimacy. "Your mother's?"
He nodded. "It belonged to her mother and her grandmother. She gave it to me to sell so we might have food. I kept the ring and stole the food."
Lily felt a queer stirring in her stomach at this first voluntarily offered piece of Cade's past. She touched the wide band, then lifted her fingers to brush back a thick lock of black hair from his forehead. That he accepted this boldness thrilled her, and she snuggled closer, until he was forced to put his arms around her and she could lean against his shoulder. She sensed he had been reluctant to do so after his admission, but he wasn't in the least bit slow to hug her once she was in his arms.
"Someday, will you tell me about your mother? I don't know how she could have survived in an Indian camp. She must have been a very strong woman."
"In her way, she was, but in the end, she wasn't strong enough. Returning to civilization killed her." Cade pressed his lips to Lily's hair and the soft scent of the soap she had used filled his nostrils. The kind of women he had known in his life these last years had never smelled clean and healthy. Perhaps that, along with her hair, was what attracted him.
"You can't stop there. Why must I drag every word out of you? If you go back to grunting, I'll pinch you."
Since he wasn't wearing a shirt, she had an ample expanse of skin to choose from. Cade grunted when she picked a small piece of his back just below his armpit, and he punished her with his mouth. They were on the bed and laughing before either of them knew it.
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