The bindings suddenly released and she gasped for air and watched the officer grip the handle of the knife and pull it out. Blood ran down his neck rapidly, and he stared at her in absolute amazement, before pitching to the side and lying perfectly still.
Olivia continued gasping for breath, her hands rubbing at her neck where the laces had so recently been taking her life. Her laces. She needed those for her bodice. Oddly calm, she pulled the laces from the officer’s lifeless hands and began to lace up her bodice and fasten her dress. Smoothing her hair away from her face she stood on trembling legs and headed back towards the house.
“Olivia? Olivia!”
The sound of Cade’s voice was a balm to her soul. “I’m here.” Her voice came out barely a whisper. She picked up her skirts and began running to the house. “I’m here, I’m here, I’m here!” She kept trying to scream, but only a squeak would occasionally escape.
She ran to the back door just as he came hobbling out. “Olivia.” He gasped in relief, then saw the blood drenching her dress. “Dear God, Olivia, where are you hurt?”
She looked down at herself, having not been aware of the blood until she saw it.
She shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m fine,” she whispered.
“Oh, thank God.” He stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, before pulling back and examining her. He stopped when he saw the deep lines around her throat. His fingers ran over the marks lightly, and his eyes snapped to hers. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
She shook her head again, fighting the tears that stung her eyes. “The officer...” she whispered. “The officer from a few weeks ago, the one—”
Dawning burst on Cade’s face, quickly followed by rage. “Where is he? I’ll kill the bastard.” His eyes searched their surroundings, and he began to head towards the trees when Olivia grabbed his arm firmly. His eyes jerked back to hers in surprise.
“He’s already dead.” She gestured to her dress.
Upon seeing the dress soaked in blood, another person’s blood, tears began to fall silently from her eyes. She hadn’t ever wanted to kill someone again, but she had no choice. She had to save her own life.
When she looked up at him, tears streaming down her face, Cade felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. He wanted to protect her, he wanted to save her from any more heartache in her life. But it seemed her staying with him through his recovery had put her in far too great of a risk.
He buried his hands in her hair and pulled her to him, holding her against his chest, his eyes squeezed shut tightly. Her tears spilled against his chest, dampening his shirt and he kissed the top of her head, breathing in her scent as his mind raced about what to do.
He had to hide the body along with her bloody dress. Then, somehow, he had to convince her that tomorrow she needed to return to San Antonio. Once she was gone, he would leave for the east and find his sweet little Bella. Olivia would no longer be in danger, and he would begin piecing his life back together as soon as he had Bella.
And he would never see Olivia again.
The thought hit him like another punch in the gut. How could he get by without her? She was part of his daily life, part of every moment of his day. He needed her. But as he slowly looked down at her face and saw the streak of tears that trailed down, he came to the hard conclusion. He needed her, but she didn’t need him.
Olivia scrubbed her skin raw, determined to get every last drop of that terrible man’s blood off of her. But no matter how much she scrubbed, it didn’t erase the smell of his breath, the pain of her laces against her throat, and the smell of his blood as he died on top of her. Nor could the memory be erased of the look on his face when he realized he was dying.
After killing the boy soldier only a few months ago, she was determined to never kill again. To take another person’s life was not something she wanted resting on her conscience for the remainder of her life. She was fairly certain she would be turned away at the gates of heaven for the crimes she had committed.
But this had been different. This wasn’t war—this was a desperate attempt to save her own life. Yet, still, her heart weighed heavily with what she had done. The only thing that made it better was Cade’s reassurance, his calm nature as he gently soothed her.
By the time Cade returned from burying the body and the dress, she had made a fresh, hot bath for him and was preparing their evening meal. He was silent as he came through the door, and she could tell his leg was paining him greatly. Such a physical burden was more than he should have endured.
Without saying a word, she went to him and began to unfasten his shirt. He hadn’t worn clothes in so long as he recovered, she imagined it felt strange against his skin.
He watched her with dark eyes, but made no move to stop her. She slipped his shirt off and was faced with his strong chest, and her heart skipped a beat. When it came to this man, she felt no fear, only security and something else she tried to identify. Her fingers fumbled on the laces of his britches as she realized the feeling must be desire.
She had seen desire between Angie and Lorenzo, and had felt a twinge of jealousy given that she never expected to feel such a thing for herself. She was the cold and frigid sister out of the three of them. She was the one that men turned away from, or ignored her altogether. She had never done anything to appear attractive to men. Cade had been right—she had created the fria sister.
She always wore her shirtwaist buttoned to her neck, kept her hair back in a severe bun, and made sure to never show any expression on her face. If any man said anything inappropriate to her or tried to touch her, even if it was just her hand, she would slap him away and let him know his interest was completely unwelcome.
She had come to terms with the idea that she would be a lonely old maid, running the cocina until she could no longer physically handle the demands. But now she had tasted desire. She had tasted passion. She had felt attractive and beautiful. And she would lose all of that as soon as Cade found Bella and they moved on with their lives. She would return to being the frigid and cold woman that turned away all men.
She finished unlacing his britches and hesitated, her fingers trembling. She had seen him naked multiple times before. But that had been while he was ill. Now he stood before her as a man fully capable of fulfilling the passionate dreams she fought each night.
Drawing a deep breath, she reached for the fabric to pull it down, revealing what an incredible specimen of man he really was. Her hands were trembling slightly, and her gaze shot to his when his large hands covered hers.
He was watching her with eyes that spoke the same language of desire that she felt. “Kiss me, angel,” he said softly, and she didn’t pull back as he lowered his head. Instead she stood on tiptoe, rushing to meet his lips as his arms wrapped around her.
They let out soft moans of pleasure as their lips crushed together, urgent and insistent. Something deep inside Olivia clenched with the strength of her desire for this man, and her arms slid up around his shoulders, clinging to him, and she parted her mouth for him at his gentle nudging.
Cade’s arms circled around her waist and pulled her closer as his mouth slanted over hers. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her, making her even more light-headed, and with slow, cautious steps, he backed her up to the wall until she was pushed against it. His tongue swept into her mouth and her eager response seemed to only heighten his need for her.
She was alive. Only an hour ago her life had almost ended. But now she was alive, and in the arms of the man that had changed her—brought her joy and happiness. She didn’t want the kiss to ever end. It reminded her that she was alive, and that he was, too.
Their intense kiss lasted for several minutes, though it felt it had only been seconds. Finally, Olivia broke the kiss off with a gasp for air. “Your bath water is getting cold,” she whispered, given that was the only thing that could come to mind at the moment.
Cade looked at her, studying her face and brushed her hair away f
rom her face. “I almost lost you today,” he whispered, his fingers dropping to her neck. “You deserve the world,” he said softly. His eyes fell to where his fingers ran lightly over the ridges of her throat from where the ties had been. “Yet all I bring you is pain and fear.”
She shook her head. “That’s not true, Cade. You know that isn’t true.”
“I know that you are the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. And I’ll never be able to repay you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Olivia blushed. She knew how he could repay her. He could fall in love with her the way she had fallen in love with him. She had realized it the other day when they were making tortillas and she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
But she was dreaming again. He already had a life with his daughter, and the last thing he needed was a new relationship to complicate things.
She stood on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss. “Take your bath before your water gets cold,” she ordered, and she forced her mind off the temptation he posed. She had to keep focused on everything she needed to do tomorrow. It was going to be a long day.
Chapter Seventeen
Serena had been expecting her any day. So when Olivia tapped lightly on the back door of the house, Serena was there within moments, holding two heavy saddle bags.
Serena frowned at the pale light beginning to spread into the sky. “This early?” she asked in disbelief.
Olivia nodded without saying anything, and Serena’s eyes narrowed on her face. “What’s his rush? Okay, forget that, stupid question. I know he wants to get to his daughter. Has he already left?”
Olivia shook her head and gathered the saddle bags from Serena. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone,” she whispered so softly Serena had to strain to hear what she said. “And you know there is a chance I may not ever come back.”
Serena stepped out of the house and circled her arms around Olivia, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Be careful, Vi. I love you. And you are coming home to us.”
Olivia hugged her back just as tightly. “I love you, too, Serri. I love you, too.”
Before Serena could say anything further, Olivia had turned and vanished off into the early morning darkness to her horse where she loaded the saddle bags, then quickly mounted. She glanced back one final time before turning the horse and nudging it into a quick canter headed out of town.
But she didn’t turn fast enough before Serena spied the tears in her eyes, and for the first time in a long time, she returned to her room and buried her face in her pillow so no one could hear her sobs. Olivia was gone.
Cade had been riding a solid hour before the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. While he had been traveling carefully, weaving in and out of the wooded area, he had the distinct feeling he was being followed.
He urged his horse into a trot, hoping to gain some slight distance between whomever was following him, and then pulled back into a deep alcove and waited. His horse enjoyed the slight reprieve, and lowered its head and cocked one leg, making the most of the opportunity to rest. But Cade was certain the rest wouldn’t be for long.
His instincts were correct when he heard the sound of horse’s hooves pounding lightly on the soft earth. The mud had dried mostly, but the earth was still damp enough to muffle some sounds. But whoever it was that was following him, they weren’t being extremely cautious or trying to hide their journey.
Cade pulled out his pistol and nudged his horse slightly, bringing it to alert, full attention, jolting it out of the light doze it had slipped into. He kept his body relaxed so the horse wasn’t on edge, but every sense was on high alert. He was going to stop the bastard following him and find out why, then decide if he deserved to have his life spared or not.
The sound of the horse’s hooves moving from behind him had slowed drastically, to the point that he could no longer hear any sound. Even the nature around them had gone silent. Sweat beaded up on his neck and slid down his back. One of the hardest things he had learned when he moved from the city to Texas was that patience often earned a man what he wanted, especially when it came to hunting.
At the moment, he was tired of being hunted. It was time for the hunted to become the hunter. It didn’t take long for his patience to pay off.
The horse moved forward slowly, several paces away from him, and he couldn’t get a good look at the rider. But there was a shotgun in a sleeve on one side of the saddle, and a rifle on the other. This rider was ready to go to battle.
The rider stopped suddenly, staring down at the tracks in the ground. So the bastard had been tracking him. Cade’s anger increased, and along with it, the throbbing in his leg did, as well. Without waiting for the rider to turn on him, he urged his horse out from their secluded space and towards the rider.
He hadn’t expected the rider to turn so quickly and aim a pistol at him. But he had been prepared, either way, as he already had his pistol aimed, and his finger already cocking it back. But that was when his motions froze. This was one contingency he certainly hadn’t planned on.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” It took all of his restraint not to yell the question. At the moment he was feeling extreme anger, yet at the same time a sense of joy that he knew he shouldn’t feel.
Slowly the rider rode towards him, lowering their weapon and guiding their horse to stand close to his. “I couldn’t let you do this alone,” Olivia rasped, her voice still damaged from her close brush with death only the day before.
Cade had already lowered his pistol and glared at her. “This isn’t your fight.”
“Yes it is. It became my fight when... when... there is a little girl out there that needs to be saved. And if I can help with that in even the smallest of ways, it is my fight.”
“I forbid it. It is far too dangerous.” His heart was racing in his chest as he imagined all the things that could go wrong if they were caught.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ll follow you. You have no way of stopping me. So I hardly see how you can forbid it.”
Cade nudged his horse until he was right next to her, his knee brushing her knee, facing each other. “Damn it, Olivia, for once will you do the safe thing? For once, will you just do what you are asked to do?”
Olivia’s eyes searched his face. “I can’t leave you, Cade. And I can’t let you leave me. So you see the quandary I’m in. And, after everything you’ve told me, I already feel like I know Bella. Two of us are better than one. We increase our odds of finding her and getting her to safety. Don’t fight me on this, Cade. Please.”
Cade pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes closed tightly. When he looked at her, his eyes were stern. “And what if something happens to you? What will I do?”
“You’ll save Bella. That is the mission, and that is all that we need to think about.”
Unable to resist the temptation, Cade leaned forward in his saddle and placed a hand at the back of her head, pulling her towards him until their lips met. His lips moved over hers softly, gently, then he slowly released her. Her lips were damp as she settled back in her saddle. “Does that mean that you’ll let me join you?”
Cade hung his head as if defeated. “Yes,” he said, but then he lifted his head and looked at her with hard eyes. “But you do as I say at all times. I don’t want to worry about you and Bella at the same time.”
Olivia nodded, a faint smile touching her lips. “We should probably get going then. The day isn’t getting any longer.”
“We need to take a break. The horses need water, and we can’t afford to drive them into the ground.”
Olivia couldn’t agree more. She was sore all over from the hours of sitting in the saddle, and the spring weather was toying with them, going from sunny and slightly warm, to cloud covered and a cold breeze. She nodded to Cade, thankful he had found the small area that had a basin of water, green grass, and large oak trees that provided much needed relief from the sun.
She attempted to dismount quickl
y, knowing Cade would need help because of his leg. But as soon as her feet touched the solid ground, her knees gave out on her. Much to her surprise, a strong arm that had the sleeve rolled up to reveal the golden hair on his forearm, caught her around the waist and steadied her, and she found herself leaning against his muscular body.
“Take it slow, angel. I’m used to rides like this, you aren’t. You should have asked me for a break sooner.”
Olivia let her head fall back against his shoulder and stared up into his incredible blue eyes. “But your leg, Cade!” she whispered. “Your leg isn’t strong enough for this kind of journey.”
He smiled down at her. “I won’t lie to you. It hurts terribly. But I’ll manage.”
She didn’t want to move from her spot. Leaning up against Cade, feeling his strong arm around her, she felt safe and more content than she could remember feeling in a very long time. But there was no time for them to waste. Her legs had finally stopped shaking under her, and she could stand on her own.
Cade slowly released her, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck as he did, and Olivia feared her knees would go weak again. Every touch from him, every soft kiss, every slight gesture of affection was tearing her apart. What would she do when he left her?
She gathered the reins of her horse and his and led them to the water while he took the saddlebags and searched for food for them. Having tethered the horses so they could graze, Oliva came back to Cade and sat near him where he leaned against the trunk of a large tree.
“I need to check the dressing on your wound,” she whispered to him, shaking her head as he offered her some of the jerky and tortilla that Serena had packed in one of her saddle bags.
“I’m beginning to think you just like to get me naked,” he said teasingly, one eyebrow lifted.
Olivia could feel the blood rush to her face as he stood and quickly began to remove his trousers. She kept her eyes averted as he slid them down, and only looked over at him when she knew he was sitting. Like the gentleman she knew he was, he had used his long shirt to conceal his body from her.
Texas Desire Page 17
