by Unknown
"Blair?" he breathed hoarsely. She was the last person he expected.
Even with Coy's encouragement, it had been no easy accomplishment for her to push aside her anxiety and knock on Adam's door, since she had no idea what his reaction would be to seeing her. Blair's arms fell abruptly to her sides and dread suddenly descended over her like a steel weight. Nervously, she moistened her dry lips and tried to swallow, but her mouth felt like dust had settled in it. "Adam, may I come in?"
Instead of answering, he carefully released the hammer on his gun and opened the door for her to enter.
Even though there was no lamp lit in the room, there was enough light filtering through the curtain for her to see the gun. "Goodness," she tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a strangled cough. "I didn't know I would receive that kind of welcome."
"Just being cautious, I had no idea who was knocking on my door." Shocked at the turbulence of his own feelings, Adam stepped back into the shadows so that she could not see the expression on his face. Allowing himself time to regain his composure, Adam pulled the shade before lighting the lamp, then turned toward her and shrugged indifferently. "You'll have to excuse my appearance; like I said, I didn't know who was at my door."
His gray eyes narrowed speculatively, noting her obvious discomfort. Yet, as much as he loved her and wanted to take her in his arms, Adam knew he would be a fool to show any unnecessary emotion until he learned the actual reason behind her visit. He refused to be manipulated like a puppet, not even for the woman he loved.
Blair made a quick involuntary appraisal of his naked chest and immediately felt blood coursing through her veins like an awakened stream just after the spring thaw. But, she was suddenly frightened by his features; they seemed to have been chiseled from granite. Their relationship was so fragile, had she pushed him too far?
"Did you have anything in particular on your mind?" he asked in a low, tentative voice.
Drawing strength from some unknown inner source, she slowly began, "Adam, yesterday at your office. . . ."
"Yesterday? Don't you mean this morning?" his deep voice brimmed with unmistakable sarcasm. He thought she was deliberately trying to mislead him.
"No, it was yesterday when I went to your office."
Blair sounded so sincere, he frowned in confusion. "What day is this?"
"Monday."
"Then, yesterday was Sunday," he said slowly as if trying to sort through the jumble in his mind.
"yes, that is when I went to your office," she repeated.
Adam shook his head then scratched it, feeling like a complete dolt. "Then ... I must have slept all the way through yesterday and today. I must have been more exhausted than I thought." His eyes widened suddenly and he reached for his boots. "There's no telling what has happened to Matthew."
"Wait." She reached out and lightly touched his arm. "Your brother came by a short while ago and looked in on you. Apparently he had learned that we were . . . acquainted, so he stopped by and asked us to tell you if we heard you stirring about, that he evicted the drunk from the cell late yesterday afternoon and would be sleeping on one of the cots. He also said everything was under control and the town was quiet — unusually quiet; so he asked around and decided it was probably due to the fact the soldiers will be here to open the land tomorrow."
"I see." Disappointment mixed with his feeling of relief. Adam was glad there had been no trouble, but it also explained the reason for Blair's presence. "It's hard to believe I slept that long . . . but thanks for delivering the messages."
"You're welcome ... but that is not the only reason I am here." She lowered her eyes, then raised them to stare with longing at him. "I was so afraid we would leave before I had a chance to talk to you."
"You're leaving?"
"Yes, we are returning home in the morning."
"What about Coy?"
"He is much better—if you could hear him complaining, I'm sure you would agree with me. At any rate, I believe he is up to making the trip. And ... if I may add, I'm grateful because I don't want to be here tomorrow when they open the land. However, I think you might find it surprising to learn that Warren plans to take part in it. He left for the ranch before sundown to get his fastest horse. He says that he will be on the front line and the instant the signal shots are fired. . . ."
"Why is he taking part in the land opening?" This certainly didn't sound like the Warren he knew.
"He wants to claim a certain portion just beyond the river; in fact, the river is a natural boundary separating our land. He says he wants to put as much distance between us and them as
possible."
Although Adam found this information to be interesting, he was more engrossed with Blair. He realized there was something else she wanted to say, but had been unable to because of his interruptions. If he didn't give her an opening to speak her piece, she would probably leave and he might never know what she wanted to tell him. "I believe you said you wanted to talk to me. Was it anything in particular, or have you already said it?" He sauntered over to the bed, sat down, and looked up at her expectantly.
Damn! Why did he have to sound so cold and abrupt?
Blair was dismayed to feel her courage fleeing when Adam stared at her with such a burning look. She could feel the explosive tension emanating from him. Then suddenly, a ray of hope rushed through her when she remembered how Warren always wanted to tower over someone when he wanted to be intimidating. Even though Adam continued to stare at her, she felt it was an encouraging sign that he had sat down.
Depicting an ease she definitely did not feel, Blair tilted her chin upward in a gesture of pride. But her voice betrayed her feeling of insecurity. "I had my courage all built up, now I have it to do all over again."
"Why do you need courage?" he asked, deliberately baiting her.
"To tell you I am sorry for the way I behaved yesterday," she murmured softly. "And I need courage because I probably hate to apologize as badly as a man does. But I’m not apologizing because I was angry," she rushed to say. "Those terrifying hours I spent not knowing whether you were dead or alive were the most miserable hours I ever lived through. So whatever fury I felt, I believe was justified. Yet, you apologized for not sending word to me, and, I should have accepted it and left it at that. My interference with your duty as deputy marshal is quite a different matter, though. That is what I am apologizing for, and I think I should also tell you . . . that it will never happen again."
"Blair . . . ?"
"No, please, let me finish ... or I may not ever be able to say it. I did a lot of soul-searching today. I kept remembering how I felt when you went out to face those men and I wondered if I could live my life with that kind of fear. But one thing I know for certain: if a man loves his work—his profession, regardless what it is —no woman has the right to interfere or to ask him to give it up ... no matter how much she loves him, or how much it frightens her." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Adam, I don't know what the future holds for us, or even if we have a future together. But I do know one day of happiness with you is more important to me than spending a lifetime with a man I did not love. I love you Adam! I love you so much!"
A wide, happy smile spread quickly across Adam's face. He pulled her roughly, almost violently to him, his hand like an iron grip on her wrist. Then his arms encircled her, one hand in the small of her back. "Sweetheart, you'll never know how much I wanted to hear you say those words!"
Chapter 25
Adam's arms wrapped around Blair tightly as though half-afraid she was but a dream that would slip away like the elusive will-o'-the-wisp.
But when the full implication of her words soaked through to his mind, his heart soared; she loved no one else but him and any thoughts of other men be damned!
Neither was prepared for the overwhelming force that struck without warning.
Slowly, he twisted her countenance up to his. "What have you don
e to me, sweetheart? Those medicines you know so much about, is there also one you’ve made into a magic love potion?" he asked before his hands tightened in her ebony cascade of tresses, and his mouth found hers with a fiery possessiveness he had not thought possible. His burning kiss clearly stated what he wanted.
Having had no prior thoughts about Adam making love to her, Blair moaned with slight protest as his tongue plundered the softness of her mouth. Yet, in an disconcerting short amount of time, she was returning his kiss with an answering fervor that only he could create within her.
Adam maneuvered so that he was on his back on the bed, pulling Blair with him. But his ardor cooled considerably when she instantly tensed in his arms.
"What's wrong, sweetheart? Don't you want to make love?"
"Y-yes, but ... the bed ... it squeaks! There are people in the other rooms and I don't want them to hear us . . . maybe even laugh. That would make it seem. . . ."
Already breathing more heavily than normal, Adam sat up on the side of the bed and sighed. Suddenly, his mouth widened in a naughty grin. "Hell, sweetheart, that's no problem." Extending his arm, he helped Blair to her feet then vigorously hefted the mattress onto the floor. "See, I told you . . . now if we can only get you out of these clothes," he murmured huskily as he began unfastening the buttons on her dress.
Moments later, he crushed her in his arms and his lips sought hers, holding her mouth a willing hostage.
His tongue pressed between her lips and teased the silky, wet lining. Blair moaned ecstatically and raised her arms to encircle his neck. Passion flared like leaping fingers of fire, and he voraciously pressed his tongue deeper—deeper, as she answered his demands with her own darting tongue.
Their bodies trembled as a special magical spell ignited and passed breathlessly between them. Together, they eased onto the mattress.
The muted light of the lamp was soft and delicate enough to cast a golden glow over her creamy skin, yet, not bright enough to break the magical spell which seemed to envelop them. Hopelessly enchanted by her loveliness, Adam could not take his eyes off her. He brushed her luxurious black hair aside and gazed at her breasts, and the shadowed cleft beckoned his lips. It was smooth and velvety soft against the ravishment of his tongue.
Blair felt the erotic scratch of his unshaven face as one masterful hand encircled her breast, and the scalding, wet vise captured her nipple. His mouth was hot and fervent as it tugged and tasted in a rhythm that drove her wild with desire.
His heart thudded loudly in his chest as a new surge of blood swelled through his manhood and he grew hard. He breathed against her nipple and the dusky areola surrounding it expanded like a flower opening in bloom.
Caught up in a swirling vortex of rapture, her hands caressed the rippling muscles of his back as tantalizing kisses deliciously tormented her lips, face, neck, and ears. Exhilarating nips and nibbles attacked the satiny skin along her shoulders.
There was a poignant cry from the depths of his being, and it reached out to touch her heart with fiery bursts of flame. He could hear her soft gasping moans and each one made his pulse race even higher, hardened his masculinity even more.
Adam gently caressed the bare hip that strained against him, then his hand touched the satiny flesh between her thighs, and he gently stroked and tugged at the silken strands that grew there. Finding her moist and ready, Adam positioned himself between that mystical valley and thought for a moment that he had entered Paradise when he lowered himself into her.
His eyes closed, his breath released, and he held himself motionless as he savored the feel of her surrounding him. Then, slowly, his body began moving with masterly expertise in a cadence that was as old as mankind.
The muscles in Adam's neck and arms corded and grew taut as his passion intensified. He could feel the very essence of his soul being pulled from him. His body guided Blair in a slow, circular motion, then their buttocks moved together in a sensual, rhythmic tempo.
Blair cried out in pleasure. She could hear Adam's heart thudding loudly, or was it hers? Everything seemed to be happening in swirling mists as it engulfed them, caressed them, and consumed them completely.
Over and over he plunged into her; his manhood stroking the velvet softness of her, pillaging her womanhood, shattering her to the very depths of her soul.
Their burning release came simultaneously, tumultuously, as the heady rush of ecstasy and rapture washed through them like a storm's onslaught, lifting, swirling, soaring, until they reached the lofty heights of infinity.
Blair lay in contented silence with her head resting in the nook of Adam's arm while he smoked a cheroot and lightly fingered a tendril of her raven colored hair.
"Oh, Adam, if only it could always be like this," she said softly. "I feel as though I'm floating on a cloud a million miles from earth."
Suddenly, an inner voice taunted her. But what if the cloud suddenly disappears and you plummet back to reality? You know how easily that could happen. You are merely deluding yourself if you think anything has been settled between you and Adam. So many problems still exist. You must not let yourself be so susceptible to his masculine charms. You will live to regret it if you do.
Icy shivers instantly swept over her.
"Cold?" he asked.
"No. . . ." Not wanting to tell him her morose thoughts, she quickly offered an excuse. "I suppose someone just walked on my grave."
"What?" He looked at her curiously.
"That's just a silly superstition or perhaps even an old saying . . . I'm really not sure which. But it is supposed to explain why a person has a sudden shiver. Don't tell me you haven't heard it before?"
"I haven't . . . and I don't like the subject of graves, especially after what we just shared," he stated a bit too harshly. What Blair said had not really perturbed him all that much, instead, he was annoyed by all of the uncertainties still surrounding their relationship. And that also bothered him because he had allowed his thoughts to wander immediately after their incredibly satisfying lovemaking.
Realizing he would have no peace of mind until the questions nagging at him were answered, Adam bluntly proclaimed, "Blair, we need to talk. There are some things I have to know."
"You sound so serious," she murmured, snuggling deeper into his arm, trying to recapture her previous feelings of euphoric bliss.
"I am serious."
Suddenly apprehensive by the tone of his voice, Blair sat up, clutching the sheet to her breasts. She was almost afraid to ask, "W-what do we need to discuss?"
"I realize you've asked no questions about the women in my past, but I will tell you now: I’ve never loved a woman until I met you."
"Y-you love me?" she mouthed incredulously. A dim flush raced like a fever across her beautiful face.
He blinked in surprise, not expecting that sort of response from her. "Of course I do. . . . Did you think differently?"
Blair's heart hammered wildly against her chest. Her hand trembled as she reached out and gently touched his cheek. "I didn't know what to imagine. You never told me how you felt! And, Adam, I have been so miserable not knowing whether you cared!" Then her eyes widened with dismay and she gasped, "It just occurred to me that I've never told you I loved you until a short while ago."
Adam slowly massaged his brow, then he rubbed his hand over his face, a definite sign of vexation, but when he spoke, there was a gentle softness in his voice, "And I thought it was because you were still in love with that man back east."
"What man?" All of this was becoming so confusing, it was getting more and more difficult to understand.
"That man . . . your fiance."
"Adam, I've never had a fiance."
"But Warren mentioned a man, and you even said something about him one day on the porch. Then, the other night at the dance, that kid — Bobby—or whatever you call him, confirmed there was. . . ."
Blair placed her fin
gertip across Adam's mouth to silence him. "There was a man I thought I cared for, but any feelings I had for him quickly disappeared when I learned he only wanted to add another conquest to his list. And I explained at the dance why I told that pester-pot Bobby what I did." She frowned, trying to remember. "For the life of me though, I don’t recall telling you I had a beau. Nevertheless, apparently I did, and it had to have been because I was reluctant to admit that he had played me for a fool."
He shrugged and sheepishly admitted, "I suppose an innocent remark could have allowed my imagination to run wild. I’m very jealous and it makes my blood boil to even think you might have feelings for another man."
Rising to her knees, she seductively placed both her arms across Adam's shoulders. "Now that we have that settled, my love, do you want to kiss me?"
"Yes," he murmured huskily, "but if I kiss you now, I might not be able to tell you what else I need to say."
"And what is that?"
His tone of voice became somber, "For one thing, I want you to stay away from Tom Bastrop."
The ghost of a smile that had been tugging at Blair's lips instantly disappeared. Jealousy was a natural emotion that everybody experienced at one time or another, yet it could be carried much too far. She loved Adam with all her heart but would not tolerate his being too domineering — that had been the major conflict between her and Warren, and it had made her life miserable.
"There is nothing between me and Tom," she replied stiffly.
"You misunderstood, sweetheart. I am jealous, but I don't think I'm unreasonable. I want you to stay away from him because I seriously doubt if he is the upstanding citizen he claims to be. He's also an extremely dangerous man. He has brought in professional gunmen and there could be a confrontation with his camp later. If this happens, I don't want you caught in the crossfire."
"Another gunfight?" she asked worriedly.
"No, I didn't necessarily mean it literally. I believe he would use any means available to further his cause. Since I personally don't like him, I've tried to give the man every benefit of the doubt. Yet, I cannot ignore my gut-feeling. To be perfectly honest: I think he is the one behind all of the trouble that's been taking place—I just don't have the evidence to prove it. If my suspicions prove to be correct, Matthew and I are the only ones standing in his way, and it is possible he might try to use you to get to me."
