The Alchemy of Desire

by Crista McHugh

  She merely nodded.

  Jim led her closer to the fire. “Cager, get that tub down from the wall and help me hang a blanket over here so we can give her some privacy. Diah, bring the rain barrel in and fill up the tub.”

  They nodded and followed his orders. The large barrel was overflowing, but he managed to shimmy it across the room without spilling too much. It was just enough to fill the tub halfway. “This water’s freezing.”

  “That’s why I keep these in here.” He opened the stove and pushed the embers back, revealing a pair of glowing stones along the bottom. He grabbed one with a set of heavy metal tongs and dropped it into the tub. The hot stone hissed as it sank, boiling the water around it. Then he grabbed the next one. “Get her out of those wet clothes, Diah.”

  He balked at the idea of stripping her naked, but the misery on her face helped ease his hesitation. Her amber eyes appeared dull and lifeless. As he approached her, she nodded and unwrapped her arms from around her chest so he could pull her dress over her head. Her skin held the warmth of an icicle when his hands brushed against it. He grabbed another blanket and draped it around her shoulders, but not before catching a glimpse of her taut nipples and full breasts.

  She clung to the blanket and pushed the wet breeches to her ankles. Diah sat her in Jim’s chair and pulled off her boots. With the last bit of her clothing removed, her chattering grew louder.

  Jim looked over his shoulder. “She’s shivering more. That’s a good sign.” He dipped his fingers into the tub. “It’s warm enough now, but I’ll set a pot on the stove to heat up some more water. Let’s get her in the tub.”

  They held her on either side and led her to it. She placed one foot in water and jerked it back as if it was near boiling hot.

  “Yeah, I know it feels hot, Little Trickster, but that’s because you’re been cold for so long.”

  She nodded at her uncle’s explanation and lowered the foot, followed by the other. As she sank into the tub, Diah pulled the blanket back and folded it next to her on the floor. She brought her knees up to her chest and began rocking back and forth.

  Jim grabbed his shoulder and led him away. “Let’s give her some privacy.”

  Diah cast one more glance at her before he moved to the other side of the curtain. “Will she be all right?”

  “She just needs to thaw out, son. She’ll be back to her ornery self by the morning, just you wait and see.” Jim lifted a cauldron and opened the door. “I’m going down to the creek to fill this up. Keep an eye on her.”

  “It seems she comes bearing presents too.” Cager lifted the case she’d brought and dangled it in front of him.

  “My potion case.” Diah snatched it and unfastened the buckles. Inside, neat rows of glass vials sparkled in the lamplight. He removed one and watched the familiar fiery waves ripple through the dense black liquid.

  Cager rubbed his jaw. “I wonder how she stole that from Hinkle.”

  “I don’t know and I’m not about to ask her now.”

  Jim came back through the door, lugging the heavy iron cauldron. “What do you have there?”

  “A case full of black fire,” Cager replied.

  Jim gave a low whistle. “I bet that could cause all kinds of trouble.”

  Diah grinned as he set the pot on the stove. Trouble was an understatement.

  He turned to check on Oni. She still sat in the tub with her knees up to her chest, but she’d stopped rocking. Her coppery skin appeared less pale, and her lips had lost their bluish tinge. She caught him staring at her and gave him a half smile.

  He lowered his eyes and left her alone. On the other side of the makeshift curtain, Jim and Cager sat at the table with a deck of cards waiting to be dealt.

  “Pull up a chair, Diah, and let’s play a few hands.”

  They played for a few minutes, but he had trouble focusing on the game. His gaze kept returning to the hunched silhouette across the room.

  When a rolling sound came from the pot, Jim shuffled his cards. “Why don’t you go add that warm water to the tub, Diah,” he said without looking up.

  Her eyes followed him as he set the steaming cauldron by the tub. From the way she sat, he could only see the tops of her breasts and nothing below them. Oni tightened her arms around her knees when he knelt beside her and began slowly adding the water into the tub with a ladle.

  “Are you warming up?”

  “Yes, Diah, although my head is still a bit cold.”

  He scooped a few ladlefuls of the bathwater to temper the water in the cauldron, testing it with his fingers until it reached the right temperature. It was hot but not scorching. He poured it over the top her head. She lifted her chin so it ran down her back and sighed.

  “That felt good. Can you do it again?”

  There was no stopping the hard-on he got by sitting next to her and staring at her slick skin. He repeated the action three more times and the smile on her face grew wider.

  His hands itched to touch her. He set the ladle in the pot and untied the leather string at the bottom of her braid. He combed his fingers through her silky hair and traced her spine. Part of him wished she would tell him to stop before his lust got the better of him.

  Oni closed her eyes and relaxed her grip on her knees, allowing him a better view of her breasts and a glimpse of the dark thatch between her legs. His pulse quickened and it took every ounce of self-control to keep his hands in her hair rather than on those areas he longed to explore.

  “Would you like to wash my hair?” she asked and interrupted his thoughts.

  “Where’s the soap?”

  She nodded to the drawer in the corner. When he opened it, the faint scent of violets wafted up from a small remnant of store-bought soap inside. Obviously not something Jim would use on himself.

  He dunked the piece of soap in the water. His hand grazed her thigh. His skin burned from the contact. He cast a glance at the blanket, but so far, the other two men seemed to have no idea what was happening on this side. The wet soap easily worked up into a rich lather as he rubbed it along her hair and massaged it into her scalp.

  She moaned in pleasure, and he felt like a kid about to get caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It didn’t feel safe to be this intimate with her and have other people nearby. His cock began to throb, and he needed some distraction before he pulled her out of the tub and made love to her. “You found my case of black fire.”

  “I thought it might make up for stealing that vial from you.”

  He rinsed his hands and ladled clean water from the cauldron over her hair. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  She waited until he was done before she replied. “You were angry with me and I suppose I didn’t like the idea of that.”

  “I didn’t mean to blow up like—”

  “You had every right to, Diah. I stole from you.”

  He gathered her hair and wrung the excess moisture from it. “I suppose it was a good thing. That vial came in handy.”

  Oni covered his hand against hers and he froze. “I came back because I was worried about you.”

  He found it hard to breathe. “Why would you be worried about me?”

  Her low laughter called to him. Her hand moved up to his face and she stroked his cheek. Her amber eyes darkened. “Perhaps because I know a good man when I see him.”

  Desire surged to the ends of his body. He felt less like a good man and more like a sex-crazed fiend as she pulled him closer. Her lips pressed against his and he surrendered to her touch. He pulled her warm, wet body to his. Dear God, I’ve never wanted a woman as much as I do her. He tried to keep his hands on her face, but as the kiss deepened one became tangled in her hair while the other slipped down her neck and fondled her breasts. He rolled her nipples between his fingers and she moaned softly.

  “Just because there’s a blanket up doesn’t mean we can’t see everything you two are doing,” Cager teased.

  Diah jerked away from her as if she burned him. He gulped
air and stared at the rise and fall of her chest. The kiss had left her breathless too.

  “That didn’t mean you had to stop,” his brother added, and Diah’s blood boiled from a combination of lust and anger. This was the second time they’d been interrupted. God Almighty, if I ever have a chance to get her alone… His thoughts trailed off as he imagined what it would feel like to bury his swollen cock in the hot wetness between her thighs. Damn it! He cursed the night he’d refused her.

  “We had better stop before…” She bit her bottom lip and smiled sheepishly at him.

  “Agreed.” He stood and adjusted his trousers. The simple movement of the fabric against his erection reminded him of wet burlap against raw skin, and he winced as he stepped out into the other side of the room. Jim refused to look up from his cards, but Cager made no effort to hide his amusement. Thankfully, he kept his mouth shut.

  It felt like an eternity before the throbbing subsided and he felt comfortable enough to sit down.

  “Jim, do you have any clothes I can wear tonight while mine dry?” she eventually called out.

  Her uncle caught his eye and gestured to the clothes hanging on the pegs near his bed. Diah inspected each article and selected a flannel shirt and relatively clean-looking pair of trousers. He blindly reached around the blanket and dropped them near the tub.

  Jim shifted his chair so he had the door in front of him, but Diah and Cager watched as she rose from the tub and dried off using the extra blanket. The low light outlined every sensuous curve of her body, and jealousy flared as Diah realized he was sharing this view with his brother.

  “Boys, that’s my niece you’re ogling.” Jim glared at them until they lowered their eyes and looked away. “It’s getting kinda late, don’t you agree? Perhaps it’s time we all turn in.”

  Oni pulled down the curtain and rolled up the sleeves on the oversized shirt. “Sounds like a good idea to me, Jim.”

  “Diah, come help me empty that tub.”

  He stood and grabbed an end of the heavy tub, but he didn’t miss the grin she gave him as he passed. When he returned, she’d spread out the blankets near the stove and sat in the middle of them. He grabbed the collection of blankets and furs that had served as his bed since he’d arrived then and considered sharing them with her.

  As if she could read his thoughts, she shook her head. Her eyes flickered first to Jim, then to Cager. She leaned toward him. “I’d be too tempted to misbehave,” she whispered. She lay down and pulled the covers up to her chin. “Good night, Diah.”

  “Good night, Oni.” The tension seeped out of his muscles, replaced by something that warmed him from his core. He’d been given a second chance with her, and he was bound and determined to make the most of it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The harsh dissonance that could only be Jim’s snoring echoed through the room when Oni opened her eyes. But as the rest of her senses sharpened, she realized it wasn’t the noise that had had pulled her from her slumber. It was something squeezing her hand.

  Her eyes adjusted to the semidarkness and she stared at Diah sleeping across from her. Or, to be more accurate, at the hand that covered hers. He shifted in his sleep and squeezed her hand again. The edges of his mouth rose. She wondered if he was aware of what he was doing or if he was just dreaming and had stumbled across her body in the process.

  She didn’t pull away, even though her mind was yelling at her to do so. Part of her wanted to enjoy the simple pleasure of him holding her hand, as silly as it sounded. Yes, there were times when her body burned for him. Last night, she’d almost pulled him into the tub with her, she wanted him so badly. But then there were other almost innocent gestures like this that warmed her heart.

  Why are you doing this to yourself? You know you’re only going to get hurt in the end.

  Oni bit her bottom lip and tried to withdraw her hand, but he held on to it tighter. She was a fool to believe anything more than a sexual relationship could come from this. He only needed her to find the White Buffalo. Once he got what he wanted, he’d go back East and marry some proper little white woman and have a litter of darling redheaded children. A stab of jealousy caught her right between the ribs as she pictured their happy little white family.

  But more importantly, would he still feel the same for her if he knew all her secrets? He already had trouble accepting that she’d stolen from him. What if he knew about the man she’d murdered or the people she’d abandoned on the plain when she sensed a demon approaching? And then there was the shifting. Stars above, he’d probably have her locked away if she told him about that. Or maybe have himself locked up for hallucinating if she showed him.

  A series of snorts followed by a yawn signaled that Jim was waking up. As much as she hated it, she pried her hand free from Diah’s. Just before her fingertips cleared his, he opened his eyes. For a moment, neither one of them moved. Then he lifted her fingers to his lips before releasing them.

  What kind of sweet torture is this?

  “Everybody up,” Jim shouted. “I can’t get breakfast started with all you folks taking up my floor.”

  Diah grinned at her like they had just shared a secret. “All right, Jim, we’re moving.”

  They stood and folded the blankets and furs as Jim stepped around them and revived the fire in the stove. The clanging of pots and pans was enough to wake the dead. Cager sat at the table and grumbled every time a loud noise prevented him from falling back asleep.

  Once Jim got the coffee started, he tucked his thumbs into his suspenders “We’re getting low on meat again, so I’m taking Oni hunting with me. You boys can do whatever you want.”

  “I don’t mind coming along.” Diah tucked away the last of the bedding.

  “Nope, I just want the two of us out today.”

  Oni tensed. If Jim wanted her alone, that usually meant she was in some kind of trouble.

  She waited until they rode a few hundred yards from the dugout before she asked him what she’d done now.

  “Just wanted some alone time with my favorite niece.”

  “Drop the act, Jim. I’m your only niece.”

  He chuckled. “You’ve always been blunt, Oni, just like your daddy. Perhaps that’s why we’ve always gotten along.”

  “But I take it there’s something you wanted to talk to me about that you didn’t feel comfortable saying in front of the Reynolds brothers.”

  “Just a few things.”

  She gulped. “Such as?”

  “First off, are you really going to lead them to the White Buffalo and let them kill it?”

  “They seem pretty determined to get it.”

  “But have you explained the legends to them? I don’t think they know what they’re messing with.”

  “Maybe I’ll tell them.”

  “There’s no maybe about it. I’ve grown quite fond of them boys over the last week, and I’d hate anything bad to happen to them, especially Big Red. Speaking of which…” He turned to her and waited for her say something.

  “What about Diah?”

  “I was hoping you’d tell me so I wouldn’t have to weasel it out of you.”

  Don’t let on how much you like him, her mind cautioned. “He’s a good man. Cager, on the other hand—”

  “We ain’t talking about Cager—we’re talking about his brother.”

  “Jim, he’s a nice guy—a real gentleman, even—but he’s just a client and nothing more. When it’s all said and done, he’ll go home and I’ll be a few hundred dollars richer.”

  Jim squinted at her. “There’s more to it than that. You don’t normally let your clients kiss you the way he did last night. Or if you do, you should be charging them a helluva lot more. If you were my daughter, I would have had a shotgun pointed at his back and a come-to-Jesus talk with him after what I saw. But, seeing as you’re a grown woman, I kept quiet then. I ain’t keeping quiet now. What’s going on between you two?”

  Oni closed her eyes and tried to collect her thought
s. How could she answer this question when she was so unsure of things? “I think we’re both attracted to each other, but that’s all.”

  “Quit lying to yourself. I think that boy’s falling in love with you, and I bet your heart’s doing its own little bit of fluttering for him as well.”

  “It’s more difficult than that. I mean, why would he want a shape-shifting half-breed like me?”

  “You can’t always use that as an excuse to push people away.”

  “Think about it, Jim. I’m not normal. I’m one of those people feared by the tribe and hated by the white man. How do you think he’d react if I sprouted fur in front of him?”

  “It didn’t bother me none when I saw you shift.”

  “That’s only because you’d seen my mother do it before.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. Her uncle had been living on the plains too long and had lost touch with the real world. “I just don’t think he’ll handle it well, that’s all.”

  “You’re dismissing him before you even give him a chance. I think he’s a bigger man than you’re giving him credit for. And I think you know it too, or else you wouldn’t be making so many excuses.”

  She sighed. If she was blunt, then Jim was stubborn. “If you say so.”

  “Of course I say so ’cause you know I’m dead on about you two.”

  Oni kept her mouth shut after that. She knew she couldn’t change his mind, and their talking was probably scaring away any game. Once they lapsed into silence, they easily shot enough rabbits within a few hours to feed them for the next two or three days and were back to the dugout by midday.

  “Diah, come help me dress these jackrabbits,” Jim hollered as they dismounted. “Oni, get the stove warmed up and see what else you can make to go with these.”

  She brushed against Diah in the doorway and exchanged a smile with him. Maybe Jim knew more about him than she did. Her thoughts turned to ways to test him to see how he would handle the truth.

  As she bustled around the room, Cager sat the table and toyed with his wand. “I hate being laid up with this shoulder.”