Cal paced the room as her fury mounted. How dare those two commit such an unforgiveable betrayal! Were they having an affair right under her nose? A new one? An old one? Was Lynx punishing her for the letters? For the past? My God, was he using Brax’s type of treachery to destroy her? Make her fall in love with him, then betray her with another woman, in their own home? How could he be so cruel and vindictive?
Salina had stolen into the room where she knew Lynx was sleeping alone, had been sleeping alone for weeks. A man of his virility must need a woman by now. Her decision to leave the ranch had been made; she would join Clint Deavers in a few days. Before she left, she would have Lynx Cardone one time. He owed her for all the years she had waited for him, craved him, endured his teasings and rejections. Once Lynx departed, she would make certain Cal learned about tonight and the ranch! She would devastate them with one blissful night.
Salina walked to the bed, gazing down at the sleeping figure. He was magnificent, lying naked on the covers. His natural instincts were dulled at home where he must feel safe and content. She removed her gown, running her hands over her sultry body, envisioning a passionate night with this bronze god. Before he could clear his head, she would have him writhing in need! Maybe he would mistake her for Calinda if she kept silent. Before Lynx became aware of who she was and what was taking place, they would be making savage love. If there was one thing Salina knew, it was how to use her hands and lips to drive a man wild with desire, to entice him beyond reality or wisdom.
Salina gingerly lay down beside Lynx. His body was so perfect and appealing, she didn’t know where to start or which temptation to use. She had waited for this night too long. As her deft hand reached for his manhood, the door flew open and lantern light flooded the room.
When Salina shrieked in alarm at untimely discovery, Lynx stirred and jerked upwards. Simultaneously his keen senses took in many facets of this baffling situation: he and Salina were in bed together naked; and Calinda was standing in the doorway with a lantern, glaring at them. “What the hell’s going on here?” he snarled.
“It’s obvious, my adulterous mate,” Calinda sneered coldly. “You animals deserve each other! I hate you!” She whirled and slammed the door. She rushed to her room and bolted the lock.
“You lousy puta!” Lynx shouted at the shrinking Salina. “How dare you sneak in here and cause trouble! Get the hell out of my room! Better still, you malicious whore, get out of my home!”
Salina cowered beneath Lynx’s full-blown rage. She begged to explain, but Lynx wouldn’t listen. He cursed and berated her, threatened to beat her if she didn’t leave instantly. When she groveled and cried, he grabbed her and shoved her toward the door. Still she resisted and pleaded. Lynx forcefully yanked her fingers from the door and pushed her into the hallway. “Get out of my sight before I forget you’re a female! If you ever step foot on this ranch again, I’ll strangle you!” he thundered at her, flinging her gown into her furious face.
Rankin came rushing to the bottom of the steps. “What’s happening, son?” he asked, then his eyes widened as they observed the naked Salina, clutching a gown and swearing at his son.
“Throw her out, father, or I won’t be responsible for controlling my temper! She sneaked into my room and tried to seduce me, right in front of Cal! Take care of her; I’ve got to speak with my wife.”
Lynx pounded on the sturdy oak bedroom door, but Calinda refused to open it. He tried to reason with her, explain his innocence. When she kept silent with the door locked, his anger increased. He beat on the door, demanding she let him inside to talk. “Damnit, Cal! I was asleep, dreaming. I didn’t know she was there. Honestly, I didn’t. I swear I haven’t touched another woman since we met. Please let me in.”
As Calinda sat on the bed listening to his quarrel with Salina and hearing his shouts of innocence, she knew what must be done. Guilty or not, she must leave the ranch before he returned from Austin. If he loved her, they would work something out after both had been given time alone. She needed to get away from him, the ranch, and these demands for a while. If she couldn’t trust him, she shouldn’t be married to him. Lynx had been given ample chances to be honest with her; he had rejected each of them. After he departed tomorrow, she would leave for Georgia and get her head and nerves together. She hadn’t been herself in weeks, too jittery, too weepy, and too listless. With all this added trouble of the past and the recent shooting, she needed time and solitude, away from Lynx and these continual dangers.
When Lynx circled to the balcony doors, he thundered, “Open up, Callie, or I’ll kick them down! We’re gonna talk right now!”
Calinda walked to the doors and unlocked them. Tonight, she would say goodbye to him, for a short time or forever. Either way, Lynx Cardone would know what he was missing, or losing. When he stormed inside, she closed the door and bolted it.
He seized her shoulders and shouted. “I’m not guilty, Cal!”
“You’re hurting me, Lynx,” she murmured softly. “You don’t have to explain. It’s over.”
He loosened his grip. “Please believe me, Callie,” he urged, fearing the addition of this spiteful ruse to her stack of misconceptions.
“Make love to me,” Cal astonishingly commanded.
“What?” he quizzed in bewilderment. They were quarreling over another woman and Cal wanted to make love?
“Make love to me right now,” she repeated distinctly.
“But you’re still mending. If you think I need a woman that badly, love, you’re wrong, Callie. I don’t want Salina or any other woman. I need you. When I return, I’ll prove it,” he mysteriously vowed.
“I need you now, tonight,” she stubbornly insisted.
“You’re hurt, Callie,” he reasoned, noticing how pale she was in the moonlight. “I didn’t mean to squeeze your shoulder. I was just frightened by what you must be thinking. Is it all right?” he fretted.
“There are different kinds of pain, Lynx. Right now, I want you so much it hurts deeply. How can I think about anything else when you’re around? You’ve become the only reality for me. You block out everything and everyone. I need that. Please.”
“Do you believe me about Salina?” he pressed.
“Even if it were true, it doesn’t matter tonight,” she parried.
“You love me that much?” he questioned incredulously.
For one last attempt to elicit a truthful explanation before she carried out her desperate plan, she said evocatively, “I could forgive you anything, just once.”
“I swear there’s nothing to forgive tonight, Callie,” he responded. “I didn’t invite her to my room and I didn’t touch her.”
“Then love me before you leave,” she enticed sadly.
Lynx was enchanted by her urgency. He lifted the gown over her head. Before he could lift her and carry her to the bed, she turned and went to it, reclining there, holding out her hand in sweet invitation, her liquid green eyes beckoning, her seductive aura overwhelming. He came forward and joined her.
Her desire was as tangible as a physical caress. He sat on the edge of the bed, filling his greedy senses with her stirring nuance. Her hand reached out and caressed his golden chest, playing over the lean muscles of his stomach and rippling bulges on his shoulders. A bittersweet aching surged through him, plaguing him until she became his one thought. His gaze drifted over her full, taut breasts with their darkened peaks. His tawny eyes glowed with fiery passion as they travelled down her sensual curves and graceful limbs.
Weeks of starved senses ignited his body to smoldering flames, fires which licked dangerously at his resolve to take her leisurely. His molten passion engulfed her, sharing his seething warmth. He was almost afraid to touch her, lest his control be quickly vanquished and he took her swiftly and urgently. She was an overpowering force.
When Calinda’s hand moved over his ribs and passed his narrow waist to draw little circles around his groin, he shuddered and moaned. “Your hesitation reeks of distraction
and disinterest, my love, but he does not agree,” she boldly taunted, trailing the backs of her fingers over the stiffened shaft. “He shouts of an appetite to match mine.”
Lynx leaned over and tantalized her breasts with his lips, his hand moved downward to stimulate her as was he. He labored lovingly and deliberately, tearing away her reason. When his mouth sealed upon her parted lips, the kiss fused into a savage and feverish blend. Their need so compelling, he slid within her body, halting instantly to master his wavering control. Never had he know a female who enticed his manhood to seek bliss the moment he invaded her womanhood.
Calinda arched to meet his hips each time he withdrew and entered again. Her body took his instinctively, as her heart absorbed his tenderness. The sensations were so pleasurable and intense that she feared she would faint from their rapturous torment. Like a morning glory, her release burst forth into full bloom, bearing its beauty to the blazing sun above her, enticing him to feed her with his power. When her love’s day was past, she gradually folded her exquisite petals.
Lynx pressed fleeting kisses upon her brow, her nose, and her lips. As his own sated passions brought a covering of contentment, his kisses softened on her lips. “Surely you know you are the only woman for me?” he murmured huskily against the silky flesh of her shoulder.
“And you, the only man for me, my love,” she replied, her tears hidden in the darkness of the room.
“Sleep, my love, when I return, all will be right between us.”
“How can I sleep when I crave you again and you stay so near?” she whispered raggedly. “There is so much I need from you.”
Lynx wondered at the anguish and desperation in her voice. How he longed to speak his heart to her, but not when he was leaving for days. What must be said between them would take more time than he had left. He had done everything to prove his love and need with actions during these last weeks. How could she deny what she witnessed and perceived? It seemed as if she compelled his touch as proof of his feelings, a way of entreating reassurance from him.
“As I said, a demanding and greedy vixen,” he teased, his tongue flickering over her breasts.
“Oh, Lynx,” she cried out as if in torment. “Why must love be so complicated and painful?”
“Only when you resist it or question it, mi amor,” he told her.
Her arms tightened around him as she sought appeasement for a yearning deeper than her sexual desire. They loved until exhaustion claimed them, to take them far away to a land where only peace and love reigned…
Far into the night, Calinda awoke. She watched her love sleeping so peacefully at her side while she agonized over the dark span between them. If after tonight he still couldn’t come to her fully, there was no way for her to reach him. Some evil monster was standing between them, and her husband was refusing to slay the destructive beast. Was her love for him so blind that she refused to see the truth? If he truly loved her and needed her beyond all else, he would prove it. He would not; therefore she must leave this traitorous haven. He knew how deeply she was troubled, how frightened and confused. Yet, some dark secret was more powerful than her love. Until that secret came to light, she could not live here with him.
He was heading out at first light to learn just how much she knew. She could not be here when he returned to confront her, too late to matter. If it must end between them, then let it be so before more damaging evidence was brought to light. If somehow there was hope for them, he would locate her and convince her. If not…
Silent tears washed down her cheeks until merciful slumber ended her anguish for the present.
Chapter Twenty-four
As Lynx tiptoed out of their bedroom at dawn, Calinda awoke. She hesitated but a few minutes before slipping into her robe and heading downstairs, her barefeet treading inaudibly on the floor. At first, she told herself she was going to have breakfast with Lynx, to send him off properly; then, she warned herself to honesty, as there was so little of it in this house. Cal was intensely aware that Lynx realized that she knew many things about the past. She was worried and frightened by his silence. Why wouldn’t he confess the truth? Was there more she didn’t know? This ceaseless mystery was tearing her apart. Unanswered questions loomed darkly and suspiciously in her mind.
She made her way near the kitchen to learn if Salina was present, to see if there was something she should know about them before he left. She pressed herself tightly against the wall, ears alert, breath held in suspense as she prayed for a clue to change her plans.
Rankin was sipping coffee at the table while Lynx prepared their breakfast. For a time, the two men were silent. Rankin broke it when he asked, “Did you tell her anything, son?”
“No. I’m waiting to see what this Kyle Yancey revealed first. I’ll go to his office after I finish in court,” Lynx responded thoughtfully.
“You think he told her about the ranch?” Rankin worried aloud, dreading explaining their deception to Cal.
“If he did, she hasn’t let on. From that letter, all she knows about is Brax and mother. Can I ask you a personal question, Father?” he inquired seriously, daring to state his curiosity for the first time since reading that provoking letter.
“About the child?” Rankin guessed astutely. When Lynx nodded ruefully, Rankin sighed heavily. “If there is a child, it could be mine. Either Brax lied in the letter to Cal, or your mother lied to Brax. As if they didn’t hurt me enough with their betrayals, now they add more anguish and doubts; I might have another son or a daughter out there somewhere. I thought it was over, son, but it isn’t. Demonio! I was willing to let the past die until Cal showed up in May. We’ve got to locate them, Lynx. I can’t allow them to steal anything more from me. No son of mine will grow up without his rightful name and heritage.”
“How could we be certain whose child Mother carried away with her?” Lynx questioned, musing on this unknown relative.
“Since she was sleeping with both of us, I suppose we can’t. This new child might favor her as you do. Only if the child resembles Brax or Cal would we know the truth. But I’m confused, son. If Cal has the deed, why is she keeping it a secret from us? She is your wife.”
“For the same reason she kept all those mysterious letters and her visit with Yancey a secret,” Lynx reasoned. Having discussed this matter before, they didn’t relate their assumptions again, leaving Calinda’s curiosity unsated. But Cal was alerted to the fact the Cardone men hadn’t known about the child.
“What will you do if Yancey told her everything?” Rankin asked.
“There’s only one thing I can do, use my charm and cunning to convince her it was a terrible mistake,” he said, winking at his father and grinning broadly, feeling renewed confidence in their future after their night of love. “I doubt she knows where Brax is.”
“I doubt you’ll need to woo her; you have her dazzled as it is.”
“Cal’s a bright girl, Father,” Lynx stated playfully.
“I always heard that love was blinding,” Rankin retorted.
“Maybe before the shooting, but she’s too wary and skittish now. We’ll have to be very careful what we say and do for a while. She’s faced lots of dangers and gathered plenty of evidence; we don’t want her spooked into running away. Cal’s seen me in action. You know she’s got to think it’s awfully strange I haven’t captured her attacker. Make sure you or Steve guard her until I return. Once she realizes I’ll never let her leave the ranch, she’ll settle down and accept it. Besides, she doesn’t have any money or a place to go.” He proclaimed smugly, “Calinda Braxton is mine.”
“Does she know the truth about you and Jones? Does she have any idea where you go and what you do?” Rankin inquired to make sure he didn’t expose anything Lynx hadn’t told Cal.
“None. She’ll be shocked when I enlighten her,” Lynx jested.
As Lynx spooned up the scrambled eggs, Calinda stealthily returned to her room, false impressions storming her senses. When Lynx returned, they would hol
d her captive to prevent trouble and embarrassment. She must escape while he was gone!
All day, Cal prepared to seek her freedom. When she discovered Salina’s absence, she asked herself if Salina had taken off alone or with Lynx. Perhaps his little tirade had been for his wife’s benefit. Damn him for using her, for hurting her! She had fallen into his clutches so readily and willingly. She was a fool! Now, she had lost everything. If only she’d learned about the ranch and treachery sooner; she might have prevented this tragedy.
All morning she had battled nausea to pack lightly and to conserve her energy. That afternoon, she took a long nap, having decided to slip out during the night. Even if she wanted to flee the moment Lynx rode off, she couldn’t because of a sturdy guard named Steve. When she awoke later, she felt much better; the curious sluggishness and queasy feeling had passed. She decided it must have been her nerves or a lingering result of her wounds. Thankfully they had healed to the point of mild discomfort. But there was no time to spare.
To prevent any suspicion, Cal cooked dinner for Rankin and herself. But he chided her for her exertions, saying Charlie would cook for them. Calinda brushed aside his soft scolding and forced a disarming smile to her lips. After the meal, Rankin helped her clear the table and do the dishes. When he invited her to play cards or to read together, she told him she needed to lie down and rest.
“See, I told you not to work so hard,” he taunted her gently.
“I’m fine, Rankin, just taking it easy like my husband ordered. Perhaps we should have invited Steve to eat with us; I’m sure he’s tired of sentry duty by now. Is this caution really necessary?”
“Yep. He’s only around during the day; at night, I’m here if you need anything. I’ll make sure the doors and windows are bolted before I turn in. Give a. shout if there’s a problem. Goodnight, Cal.”
First Love Wild Love Page 46
