Sam got to his feet, his entire body aching from head to toe. He wished like hell he could have a hot bath, but more than likely he didn’t even have the strength to heat the water, much less empty the tub.
“Let him sleep for now. After he wakes up, we need to talk to him about getting out of Forestville and leaving Angeline alone.” Sam would rather drag the kid back to wherever he belonged, by force if necessary. No doubt when he woke up, Jonathan would have a hell of a headache and a smart mouth.
Booth nodded. “I’ll let you know when he does. You should head on home now, and tell your Pa I said hello.”
Sam couldn’t quite manage a smile, whether because his mouth hurt or because he felt like shit, he wasn’t sure. “I’ll do that. Thanks, Henry.”
When he stepped outside the jail, he blinked against the brightness of the setting sun. He walked as quickly as he could manage with the soreness of his body. It took longer than he wanted, but he walked through his door in less than fifteen minutes.
“Angeline?”
Silence met his question, and he was immediately awash in new worry. Where was she? And for that matter, where was his father? He closed the door behind him and walked into the house, peering into each room, all of which were cloaked in the shadows of sunset.
He looked up the stairs and took two at a time, out of breath with more than just the exertion of the climb. When he finally got to his father’s bedroom, he heard what he couldn’t have from downstairs.
Singing.
No doubt it was Angeline, and it was no surprise to realize she had the voice of an angel. She sang softly, sweetly, a melody he didn’t recognize. Sam pressed his head against the door and let her voice wash over him. The notes were like soothing swipes against his aches and pains.
Her voice trailed off, and then she was murmuring softly. Sam stepped back just as the door opened. She didn’t appear to be startled, as if she’d known he was out there listening. After closing the door behind her, she gazed at him, apparently cataloging his injuries.
“Let’s go downstairs and get you cleaned up.” Just like that, she’d taken control of the situation.
Sam followed her, too tired and wrung out to do anything but do as she bade. By the time he got to the kitchen, he realized she had buckets already heating on the stove, and she’d dragged in the tub from the back porch.
He was astonished, and so grateful tears pricked his eyes. “Angel, did you do all this?”
She stuck her finger into each of the three buckets on the stove. “Did you think I grew up with servants? I know how to work, and I’m strong. There’s not much I can’t do in a kitchen or in a house for that matter.” She pointed to one of the kitchen chairs. “Now, sit.”
Sam sat and watched her as she gathered a few things then pulled the chair up and sat down, facing him.
“Let’s get those cuts clean first.” She dipped a rag into a bowl of hot water and reached for him.
Sam closed his eyes and let her wash away the blood and dirt. Her touch was gentle, soothing, a balm to his battered body and soul. It had been a day filled with too much to take in all at once. He needed time to heal, and Angeline seemed to sense that—part of their connection, which grew even stronger with each passing moment.
“How is Jonathan?” she asked as she wrung out the rag in the water.
“Sleeping but fine, as far as I could tell. Henry is going to keep an eye on him and let me know when he wakes up so we can sort all of this business out.” Sam opened his eyes and met her worried blue gaze. “I didn’t want to fight him, Angel.”
She nodded. “I know you didn’t. He’s not the boy I knew. I’m not sure what happened, what made him act the way he did.”
Sam looked at her. “Honey, he’s in love with you—desperately, hopelessly in love with you. A man who loses the woman he loves so deeply will do anything he can to get her back.”
The idea seemed to shock her. “This whole thing is my fault?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” Sam reached out and cupped her chin. “You inspire men to love you just by being you. Their stupidity is their own, not yours. That kid knew what he was doing, what he was up against when he came back to Forestville. He knew who I was, knew what you meant to me.”
Instead of denying it, she nodded again. “He was here earlier this week and saw us together. I explained to him that I was never going back to Tolson or the church, and especially, not to Josiah. He seemed to accept that and left. I never expected him to come back.” She squeezed the rag so hard water began dripping on her dress. “I never wanted either one of you to be hurt.”
Sam took the rag from her, set it back in the bowl, and then kissed her forehead, nose, and lips. “I know you didn’t, so stop blaming yourself for our fight. There is no good explanation as to why men beat each other. I guess deep inside we’re animals in the forest fighting for what we want.”
“You are not an animal.”
He couldn’t possibly explain to her the things he’d done as a soldier, as a man. Some of them she would never believe, even if he told her. Men did what they had to in order to survive, no matter how horrific or unnatural it might seem. Angeline had obviously accepted the fact there was nothing she could have done to change the fact he and Jonathan fought.
Sam smiled at her, his face aching from one side to the other. “I love you, Angel.”
The world seemed to stop, a moment suspended in time as she opened her mouth to speak. Sam’s entire life was there in front of him, caught in a single second as he waited for her.
“I love you too, Sam.”
Disregarding his soreness, his exhaustion, and his bruises, Sam hauled her close to him and captured her mouth in a kiss. His heart beat so damn hard, he thought it might just jump out of his chest.
She loved him.
This was a defining moment in his life, where the rest of his future was decided. Angeline had made her choice, and he could have danced on the roof he was so excited to be the one she chose.
He forced himself to ease the kiss and release her mouth. She stared at him, her gaze full of wonder. Sam felt the same wonder coursing through him.
“Let’s get that bath ready for you.” Angeline broke their connection, getting to her feet and heading for the stove.
“I’ll help you.”
“No.” Her voice was firm enough to stop him from rising from the chair. “I’ll do it. Just sit there and let me do what I need to do.”
Sam didn’t know what Angeline was thinking, but he respected her enough to do as she told him. He was tired enough to appreciate it too, even if he felt as if he could run to Texas and back on her declaration of love.
She moved efficiently, dumping each hot water bucket into the tub. Then she used the pump in the sink to fill each one with cool water from the well. By the time the third cold water bucket was in the tub, he was more than impressed with her strength. Angeline was much stronger than she appeared.
“Now, let’s get you undressed.” Angeline turned her attention to him. She removed his boots and socks then set them aside.
Sam got to his feet and simply watched as she undressed him. It was a sensual experience, although there was nothing sexual about it. She took off his shirt, her breath catching when she saw him in the full lamplight. Her fingers traced the saber wound in his side, then the bullet scar on his shoulder and the bruises on his ribs.
Her gaze snapped to his. “You’ve survived a lot of pain.”
He took her hand and kissed the back. “I survived so I could find you.”
Tears filled her eyes as she leaned forward and kissed each of the marks on his body. Sam felt his own tears building and blinked them back. Angeline flattened her palm against his chest, and his heart reacted by thumping against her small hand.
She reached for his trousers and unbuttoned them, sliding down the rest of his clothes until he was nude. Angeline stepped back and gazed at him, stopping at his leg where the other larger saber scar
shone against his skin.
Without asking questions, or showing him pity, thank God, she held out her hand and led him to the tub. Wisps of steam rose from the water as he stepped into the water. She kept a firm grip on his hand, steadying him so he could sink into the heavenly bath. Sam groaned as the hot water surrounded his tired muscles.
“You have no idea how good this feels.”
She smiled and reached for a clean rag and soap on the table. “I think I have an idea.”
Angeline washed him from head to foot, without any sexual overtones to her actions. It was a task born of love. With each stroke of the cloth, she told him how much she cared for him. He heard her loud and clear although she never said a word.
Her nails scrubbed his scalp, washing the mud from his hair until it was squeaky clean. By the time he was done, the water was more gray than clear. She picked up a clean towel from the back of the chair and held it out for him. Sam rose from the water, feeling relaxed and content, something he hadn’t experienced in many years.
As he dried off and dressed, she dipped the buckets into the tub, and one by one, emptied the tub until there was only a small amount left. Then she filled another bucket and put it on the stove to heat, more than likely to wash herself. When she started to drag the tub toward the back door, he stopped her.
“Let me do that.”
“I can empty the tub by myself, Sam. Don’t think I’m incapable.” She kept dragging it, grunting with each yank.
He put his hand over hers. “Honey, there’s nothing I don’t think you’re capable of, but I want to do this. For you. Please.”
Her face was covered in a sheen of perspiration, her hair a mess of strands sticking to her cheeks. Sam thought her the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“Okay, thank you.” She wiped her forehead on her sleeve and stepped back.
Sam kissed her, tasting her sweat, her sweetness, and her love. “Thank you, Angel.”
He was rewarded by her eyes twinkling with the same love in his heart. Sam made quick work of the tub, leaving it standing upright on the back porch to dry. By the time he made it back inside, she was filling another basin with water.
“Is that for my father?”
She shook her head. “No, he washed up earlier. I fed him dinner and supper, too. He told me lots of stories about you and your mother.”
“Really?” Sam’s father hadn’t told stories to him about his mother except in times when he was not very lucid. After she’d died, he could hardly bear to hear a story much less tell one.
“Oh yes, he even said I was the same size as she was.” She smiled at him. “He’s really very charming.”
“I’m glad you got to know each other. And thank you for taking care of him while I was, um, unable to.” Sam had relied on no one for so long, he felt odd asking for help. Yet with Angeline, it was different.
She tested the water on the stove again, and apparently decided it wasn’t quite ready yet.
Sam’s body began to heat, and not from the warmth of the bath. “This water is for you?”
She blushed and glanced down at her feet. That was a habit she had when she didn’t want to talk about something. Sam wasn’t going to let her get away with it. He chucked her under the chin until she looked up at him, meeting his gaze.
“I need to wash up.”
Sam’s heart thumped so hard, his dick hardened almost instantly. “Let me wash you.”
Angeline’s mouth turned cotton dry as she stared at Sam. His eyes were dark and wide in the lamplight, his half-dressed body tempting her to touch him. This time it would be as something other than a nurse. She’d told him she loved him and for certain he loved her.
She knew he wanted to marry her, and Angeline wanted to, so much so she could almost taste it. However, before she could experience pleasure with him again, she had to show him her scars. He’d allowed her to see all of his, vulnerable and open. Now, it was her turn.
The warm kitchen encouraged her to be brave, to use that inner well of strength she’d been building over the last year. She stepped back and reached for the buttons on her blouse. His body jerked, and she could clearly see the outline of his engorged cock in his trousers.
Angeline knew it was up to her—she controlled the situation rather than being the victim in someone else’s power. This time, her hands were not shaking. This time, she was not afraid to be the woman she’d become.
“Sit.”
He obeyed immediately, dropping to the chair, his gaze never leaving her body. She smiled as power surged through her. Angeline had never felt more alive.
First, she removed the fossil from her pocket and set it on the table. It was one of her most precious possessions, and she was never without it. Then she took off her shirt and skirt, laying them on the back of the chair. Her chemise hid much but she wasn’t about to keep it on. It was time to show Sam everything. Before she pledged her life to his, she needed him to see exactly who she was.
Angeline turned her back to him and pulled the chemise and pantalettes off, exposing every inch of her skin. Each scar from the lash must have shone in the light. Her stomach danced as she waited a full minute until she turned around. His smile had faded, and instead, she saw sympathy and fury.
“Did your supposed husband do that to you?”
“He could not perform as a man without inflicting pain. I could not refuse him or deny him. We all experienced the lash, each of us caring for the other afterwards.” Angeline remembered Lettie sobbing softly as her wounds were cleaned and salve applied. Those were the only times she had ever seen her friend cry.
Angeline had refused to cry, earning her more lashes from Josiah. She’d nearly died the last time he’d beaten her. It was the very reason she and Lettie had escaped, the impetus for her flight into the world. Into Sam’s life.
“Jesus, Angel, what did he do to you?” Sam reached out with a shaking hand and turned her. His hand ran down her back and buttocks with a gentle touch.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m no longer the same girl who accepted lashes for what she’d done or hadn’t done.” Angeline turned around, inches from his warm skin.
This was the moment where she would decide the rest of her life. She took his hand and put it on her breast. The nipple peaked against his skin.
“Marry me, Angel.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d asked, but it was the first time she was ready to say yes.
“Only if we can spend the rest of our lives making love.” She smiled through her tears.
“I think I can do that.” He pulled her closer until her body was pressed against his.
His lips lightly grazed hers. Angeline closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she shook with her awakening passion. Sam claimed her mouth with his, and they were lost in a lover’s kiss.
She hadn’t expected his lips to be so soft, yet so demanding. He kissed her hungrily, devouring her lips with his. Then she felt his tongue. A delicious shiver ran straight down to her toes. He slowly licked her lips, and then tickled his way inside her mouth. Her tongue answered his with bold strokes. He growled in his throat, deepening the kiss. Suddenly, his arms were around her, crushing her breasts against his hard wall of a chest. Angeline stopped thinking about what she was doing and let her hands roam over him.
Her body was throbbing painfully as she moaned softly in his embrace. His right hand reached up for her breast and caressed the underside. Angeline caught her breath as his thumb felt the hardened nipple. Her mind reeling, she couldn’t think a single thought other than the desire that was raging through her body.
This time was different, special because they had pledged their lives together. Sam slowly peeled off her clothes, kissing each inch of exposed skin until she was breathing heavily. He lapped at her nipples then bit each one gently.
Angeline moaned and swayed on her feet. “Please, Sam, please.” She didn’t know what she was asking for, but she knew she needed it and soon. Her body was
familiar with his and craved his touch.
Sam scooped her into his arms and carried her to his bed, laying her down gently. He climbed up beside her and kissed her softly.
“My wife.”
It was as if they’d pledged their hearts, and now, their bodies. One soul, one heart. She felt tears prick her eyes as he slid into her.
“Oh God, Sam.” She felt out of control, anxious to be his, to join with him and find that perfect moment.
He kissed her again as he began to thrust in and out, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. She pulled her knees up, exposing her pussy to him completely.
“Oh, Angel.” Sam held her knees as he plunged in deeper and deeper, touching her very soul.
Angeline cried out as a powerful release hit her so suddenly, she couldn’t form a coherent thought. Her mind scattered to the winds, like dandelion puffs. She scratched at his arms, pulling him down to her.
His mouth captured hers in a soul-searing kiss as he found his own release. She felt the tears as they fell, the tears of joy, the tears of a love found.
Angeline woke suddenly, as if someone had clapped their hands right in front of her face. She sat up, realizing she was in a strange bedroom. It took her a few moments to remember she was in Sam’s house, in his bed. She let out a sigh of relief and glanced around the dark room. It would be the first of many nights she would be with him, and she’d need to get used to where everything was.
A sharp smack from her left made her tumble out of the bed. Her hip slammed into the hard wooden floor, stealing her breath. What just happened? She shook off the impact of the fall and tried to figure out what was going on.
She heard a rustling on the sheets and a moan. Angeline got up on her knees and peered over the top. Sam was tangled in the sheets. They were twisted around his leg while he thrashed on the bed.
He was having a nightmare.
Angeline got up and rubbed her hip. Then she walked around the other side of the bed. On the small table, he’d left a glass of water next to the pitcher, along with a clean rag around the rim. She guessed it wasn’t the first nightmare he’d had, judging by the fact he had everything next to the bed rather than on the washstand on the other side of the room.
Restless Heart Page 12
