by Carol Finch
“You should but you won’t,” Blackowl predicted. “She won’t back off until she finds her fugitive and you won’t let her endanger her life more than necessary.”
Raven huffed out a breath. “She’s making me crazy, Blackowl.”
“Crazy looks good on you…temporarily, at least. But that doesn’t change your destiny,” he said as he ambled into the darkness. “I’ll be bathing at the springs. Don’t disturb me.”
Raven watched his cousin vanish into the distance then pivoted to study Eva and Hoodoo through the window. They were washing and drying dishes, noticeably comfortable in each other’s presence.
The older man had cut himself off from the world and from women years ago. However, he’d acquired a new lease on life after meeting Eva. She had a special knack of rebuilding Hoodoo’s self-confidence in his appearance and restoring his faith in women. For that, Raven was grateful.
Unfortunately, she was tying Raven in a dozen different knots. She dominated his thoughts and affected his male body fiercely. Pretending indifference in her presence was damn near impossible.
“What the hell am I going to do about her?” Raven asked, glancing skyward.
The reply was a distant rumble of thunder. “So much for the white man’s divine guidance,” he mumbled as he walked off to shelter the new saddle horses in the shed behind the cabin.
Eva’s tantalizing image was there to greet him in the darkness. The thought of her stirred forbidden memories of the wild passion they had shared. His traitorous body hardened with hungry need so quickly that he groaned uncomfortably.
One tryst with Eva was enough, given who she was, given the vast difference in their backgrounds. Hell, once with Evangeline Hallowell was one time too many, he reminded himself. He could name dozens of reasons why they were mismatched, but he couldn’t talk himself out of wanting her again, even if she was Denver’s version of royalty.
They had absolutely nothing in common except a reckless rendezvous at Phantom Springs, he told himself sensibly. If he knew what was good for him, he wouldn’t allow mindless desire to get the better of him again.
Chapter Eleven
From the window, Lydia Hallowell watched Roger Philbert halt the buggy by the front door. He bounded up the marble steps, but she opened the door before he could knock. He blinked in surprise when he noticed she was dressed in the unconventional style of breeches and shirt that her older sister preferred. Without delay, Lydia motioned him inside.
“Thank you for returning the buggy, Roger,” she murmured as she led him to the study to ensure privacy.
She pivoted to stare at him, her chin elevated in a mannerism that characterized Evangeline. Roger shook his head and smiled in amazement.
“It is startling how much you and Eva look alike, even more so than my twin sister and me.”
“I’ve heard that a lot lately,” she replied then asked him flat out, “How much do you know about what’s going on?”
“Enough to be insanely curious after Eva sent a note asking me to fetch your abandoned buggy,” he said. “Would you mind telling me why Gordon had possession of it?”
She grimaced, wrung her hands then muttered an unladylike oath under her breath. “If I confide what happened you have to swear on your honor that you won’t tell another living soul. Not even Sadie.”
Roger scoffed. “You know she’ll drive us both crazy if we exclude her.”
Lydia expelled her breath then scraped her fingers through her curly auburn hair. “All right. Tell Sadie only what’s necessary.”
She wilted into the chair behind the desk and gestured for Roger to take a seat. “Gordon only pretended to like me so he could attach himself to my money. Like an idiot, I believed he cared for me and that he was sincere when he wanted to elope in my carriage,” she explained. “He asked me to bring along some money to cover the extended honeymoon. Then he dumped me by the roadside and left me to make my way home in shame and humiliation.”
“I’m sorry,” Roger commiserated. “Sadie and I have had to dodge those kinds of land mines ourselves.”
She bobbed her head and tried to blink back the tears. It took a moment to regain her composure. “I’ve resolved to become as strong and independent as Eva. I also plan to avoid men until I become a better judge of your despicable gender.”
Roger grinned and threw up his hands suppliantly. “Just don’t forget I’m one of the good guys. Plus I’m a longtime friend.” He shifted awkwardly in his chair. “As your friend, I must inform you that your sister married the gunslinger she hired to track down Gordon. That’s what this is about, right?”
“What!” Lydia literally came out of her chair in shock.
Roger nodded his blond head. “That’s the report I received from the stationmaster where I picked up your buggy. He bought it from Gordon, who rode off on Hodge. Eva bought the carriage back. I don’t have any other details.”
“Married? Eva?” Lydia plunked into her chair, astonished. She looked to Roger for answers. “Why did she do that?”
Roger shrugged. “I don’t know but I suppose Eva has her reasons. At least I hope she isn’t a pawn in the bounty hunter’s perverted game.”
Lydia nodded pensively. “I sincerely hope so, too. Eva usually knows what she’s doing. Unlike me.”
Roger surged from his chair. “You’ll do fine, Lydia. If you need anything Sadie and I will be happy to assist you.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, distracted. “Married to a bounty hunter? What is she thinking?”
“Hell if I know,” Roger mumbled as he let himself out.
Lydia was up and pacing from wall to wall in nothing flat. Lydia suspected her sister had made some sort of bargain with the devil as a sacrifice on her behalf. Her shoulders slumped with a heavy burden of guilt. As usual, Eva was fighting Lydia’s battles for her.
“But no longer,” she said to the room at large. “I’m going to fend for myself and take the pressure off Eva.”
Although Lydia vowed to reform, she was at a loss as to how to help her sister. She didn’t even know where to find her. Lydia prayed Eva would contact her immediately so she could dash off to assist her—for once in her life.
Raven had chosen to spend a second night on his bedroll, in case the sniper sneaked up to the cabin. He had just dozed off on his pallet beside the horse pen when the crackle of twigs and dry leaves brought him to instant alert. Pistol in hand, Raven watched the shadowed silhouette materialize from the inky depths of the night.
It was Eva, he realized, tormented by a riptide of emotion. He wished it was the sniper because he knew how to fight that kind of threat. But he had no defense against Eva. He wanted to shout her back to the cabin, but he didn’t voice a single protest when she removed the six-shooter from his hand and set it an arm’s length away.
Mesmerized, he watched her sink to her knees to remove her robe. There was nothing beneath it.
Raven groaned softly when she grasped his hand and brought it to her lips. “I want to know you the way you know me. Man to woman. No names, no expectations. Just this one last time.”
Then she kissed him tenderly and his hand contracted around her breast. She sighed into his mouth and reached out to trail her fingers over the expanse of his chest. For him, it was a kiss of helpless surrender. When she urged him to his back, he did as she asked. He, who was known for his ironclad self-discipline and unfaltering willpower, gave in to temptation without a fight.
“I want to know what you like,” she murmured. “I want to please you. I want to be exceptionally good at it.”
Her moist breath skimmed over his male nipples then drifted over his belly. Raven felt raw lust pulsating through his body. He was too aware of her alluring scent, too consumed by her tender touch to do anything except respond. He lay there shamelessly, allowing her to caress him at will, offering no objection when she glided her hand beneath the quilt to find him throbbing and aching for her.
“Evangeline, I—” His brain broke
down and flames leaped through his bloodstream when she stroked his rigid flesh from base to tip with her thumb and forefinger.
His heart ceased beating momentarily when she dipped her head to take him into her mouth. The feel of her lips brushing his sensitive flesh drove him mad with desire. The feel of her silky hair skimming over his abdomen sent hot chills down his spine. Desperate for control, he reached down to still her roving hand, but she placed it over hers then nipped playfully at his knuckles with her teeth.
“I thought you hated men,” he rasped shakily.
“Not as much since I found out they’re good for something besides target practice,” she teased as she worked her erotic magic on his body. “But it turns out that I’m very particular about which man I choose to sleep with.”
“Not much sleeping going on here…Ah…you’re killing me,” he groaned as her hand brushed over his aching length repeatedly, tormentingly.
“Don’t die yet,” she teased. “I have a dozen more things I want to do with you.”
Raven was fairly certain this would be his last day on earth. Pleasure this hot and intense demanded extreme sacrifice, he was sure of it. He had never allowed a woman unlimited access to his body. But if Eva wanted to touch him then he wouldn’t stop her. She made him enjoy defeat. She made him abandon self-control and like every erotic moment of it. She made him groan in unholy torment and beg for more.
When she stroked him and suckled him, he whispered her name like a chant. She glided over him, offering him a taste of his own desire for her in their kiss. His flesh boiled into steam and bone melted like molten lava when she settled over him—so close yet maddeningly far away.
“Come here,” he said huskily. “I need you…now.”
“You don’t need me enough. Not yet,” she whispered back.
And then she reached down to touch him again and again. He swore he was going to black out when searing pleasure coursed through him like a river of fire. When she shifted to sink down exactly upon him, Raven arched instinctively toward her, aching to bury himself in her moist warmth. Suddenly he was inside her and she was riding him, setting a hypnotic pace that swept him up like a cyclone spinning his mind and body completely out of control.
Raven clasped his hands on her hips, guiding her up and down in frantic rhythm. Intense sensations burgeoned until they burst over him like a comet blazing a path across the night sky, hurtling toward fiery self-destruction.
He’d thought the first time with Eva was incredible. The second was unbelievable. He’d never felt so much pleasure and emotion converge on him at once. The effects on him were breathtaking and mind-numbing—and he wanted more.
He watched her arch her back as her head tilted, sending a cascade of auburn curls tumbling around her shoulders. He felt the quakes of ecstasy claim her body, felt them vibrate through him until they shared the climactic pleasure as one living, breathing essence. The intimate caress of her body radiating through him sent him pitching over the edge of self-control, free-falling through space into unparalleled rapture.
Raven couldn’t draw breath. He could only feel to such intense extremes that he swore death was imminent. He shuddered wildly and reached up to pull Eva down on top of him. He wrapped her tightly in his arms, so completely overwhelmed that he feared he’d squeeze her in two. But he needed to be as close to her as he could get when the infinite emotion consumed him.
It was out of character for him to be so devastated by passion or by the woman in his arms. He’d never let anyone under his skin and he’d developed a hard shell around his heart. Nevertheless, Eva felt like a vital part of him and he didn’t want to delve too deeply into why she did, for fear he couldn’t deal with what all these intense emotions implied.
She stirred above him a few moments later, kissed him lightly on the lips then eased away to don her robe. “I’ll never forget what it was like to be with you,” she murmured.
Like a fleeting fantasy come and gone, she melted into the swaying shadows. Emptiness and restlessness, the likes he hadn’t experienced since he was a child, overcame him.
A moment later lightning flickered over the mountain crests then vanished, plunging the world into darkness. Raven planned to lie awake and contemplate why Eva had risked letting Blackowl, who had camped out on the cabin floor, know where she had gone in the middle of the night.
He supposed the newness of passion had made the spirited Evangeline Hallowell impetuous and daring. A wry smile pursed his lips as he stared up at the clouds that played cat-and-mouse with the moon and stars. He decided there were worse things in the world than being the experimental object of a woman’s passion. Just as long as he didn’t read anything into their midnight tryst, he cautioned himself.
“When all is said and done, you’ll still return to your world and I’ll be stuck in mine,” he whispered to the enthralling vision floating above him.
Enjoy her, came that reckless voice deep inside him. She was a rare treat for a man who lived a hardscrabble life, stuck between two opposing civilizations and cultures. If she didn’t complain about their passionate trysts, why should he?
Raven told himself to get some shut-eye so he’d be alert during their upcoming journey. However, the memories of incredible passion followed him into his dreams and he woke up more than once in a cold sweat, wishing for a few more forbidden hours with Eva in his arms.
Gordon Carter packed his gear on his horse and trotted up the trail to Purgatory Gulch. He had decided to try his hand at gambling in the mining district. For sure, he hadn’t had any luck picking off Eva as he’d hoped.
Meanwhile, he would kill some time while waiting for the next phase of his scheme for the Hallowells to unfold.
Without a backward glance, Gordon made his way through the fog that cloaked the mountain trail. He smiled wickedly to himself, wondering how the Hallowells would react to the next part of his plan. They would be furious and outraged, no doubt. And that would please Gordon immensely.
The next morning Blackowl glanced over at Raven while he strapped his saddlebags on his pony. “Tired, cousin? Have trouble sleeping last night?”
Raven stared bleary-eyed at the soupy fog that had greeted him at dawn. “None whatsoever. You?”
Blackowl grinned scampishly. “Yes, in fact. Someone stepped over me during the night. I hope that someone didn’t wear you out completely, cousin.”
Raven refused to rise to the bait. He kept his expression carefully blank. “You’re going to be a nuisance on this trip, aren’t you? Maybe you should stay here with Hoodoo.”
“And miss the entertainment? No, I’m definitely coming.”
“I packed some food to send along with you,” Hoodoo called out as he limped downhill. “Don’t want that little gal to get hungry.” He glanced this way and that. “Where is she? Bathing at the spring?”
A sickening feeling coiled in the pit of Raven’s belly. “I thought she was sleeping late this morning.” He glanced questioningly at Blackowl.
“I heard her go outside during the night but she didn’t return. I thought she was with you.”
“Damn it to hell!” Raven exploded. “Surely she didn’t strike off by herself.” He glanced every which way but the blood-red bay gelding was gone. “How could she know what route to follow?”
Hoodoo winced. “That must be why she asked me so many questions about the wagon trail that led to the mining camp. I thought she was just passing time while we washed dishes and cleaned up after supper last night.”
Raven swore a blue streak. When that didn’t ease the anger roiling inside him, he swore another blue streak.
“Why would she leave without us?” Raven muttered as he swung into the saddle, anxious to overtake that crazed female. “Just because she had a crash course in self-defense does she think she’s indestructible?”
“Maybe she didn’t want to see you two hurt while serving her cause,” Hoodoo speculated. Then a thought suddenly occurred to him and his blue eyes popped. “Oh, h
ell. I tried to impress upon her that she needed to wear men’s clothing and learn to take care of herself so it would make her two bodyguards’ job safer and easier. She must’ve felt guilty about placing you in harm’s way and decided to accept the challenge by herself.”
Raven had the uneasy feeling Hoodoo was right on the mark. Eva had come to Raven at midnight to say farewell before riding off in the darkness, relying on the information about the trail that Hoodoo had unknowingly offered her. Now she’d been gone for hours, following the narrow path leading to the mining camps at higher elevations.
If she located Carter and confronted him alone, he’d strangle her—if Carter didn’t kill her first.
“Let’s ride,” Raven insisted, all sorts of unpleasant scenarios dancing in his head.
Blackowl hurriedly tied the rest of his gear in place. Although it took only a few moments, it felt like an hour to Raven. They raced off like discharged cannonballs. Raven pushed the pinto to his limits before slowing the laboring steed to a walk so he could catch his breath.
“Everything will be fine,” Blackowl consoled Raven a quarter of an hour later.
“Will it?” Raven said grimly. “That’s the very last thing my mother said to me when the soldiers descended on us at Sand Creek. We know how that turned out, don’t we?”
Blackowl shut his mouth. Raven had the feeling Blackowl’s mother had made the same reassuring remark before she urged him to flee before the bloodthirsty soldiers shot her, too.
Eva patted the bay’s muscled neck as she followed the trail through the soupy fog that enveloped the rugged peaks. She couldn’t see very far ahead—or behind her. However, she figured that was to her advantage if Gordon was lurking in the hills, hoping to shoot her out of the saddle.
A faint smile quirked her lips. She wondered how Raven had reacted to finding her gone this morning. Her ears were burning so she presumed he had bellowed a few salty curses to her name. But honestly, this was for the best, she reassured herself. Raven could continue training his new horse until it equaled Buck’s dependable skills. Plus, Blackowl had said she had passed her self-defense tests with flying colors—or something to that effect.
