by Smith, Bobbi
“All right.”
Curling up in a sheltered spot, she pulled the blanket close around her to ward off the chill of the night. Her eyes were upon him as he sat some distance away, staring out across the night-blackened terrain, and once again she admired the lean lines of his body.
“Cazador?” she said softly.
“What?”
“Thank you for not letting them take me this morning.” Her words sounded heartfelt.
“Go to sleep, Jennie,” he said brusquely. “You’re going to need your rest tomorrow.”
“All right.” There was a pause while she sought comfort on her hard bed. “Well, good night.”
“Night.”
Where moments before, Rick had been worried about falling asleep during his watch, now he was worried about not being able to keep his hands off Jennie. Glancing over at her, he swore under his breath at the lovely sight she made. Even after a day of arduous riding that would have been hard on the best of men, she still looked beautiful. In repose the wary, headstrong girl had disappeared and only an innocent-looking beauty remained.
It irritated Rick that he felt an overwhelming desire to sweep her into his arms, to protect her and keep her safe from all of life’s ugliness. He had never cared about a woman in this way before. These emotions were all new to him, and he found them most distracting at a time when he could scarcely afford the distraction. He had vowed not to become involved with her, and he was going to hold himself to that pledge. Right now his grandfather’s rescue took priority over everything, even his own feelings.
As she drifted off to sleep, Jennie’s dreams were jumbled and frightening, and she tossed restlessly on the hard ground. Her mind was playing out scenes before her: scenes of Hildago lecturing her on being more of a woman; of Luis and Ray attacking her and of Cazador saving her, touching her so gently and then coldly ignoring her. In the dream, she saw herself chasing after him as the other men followed leeringly behind her. She called out to him over and over to stop, to wait for her. But he walked away without looking back, and the pain of his leaving seared her heart. The memories and the fantasies all swirled together in a whirlwind of fearful denial and she awoke abruptly, startled from her much needed rest.
“Wait! Don’t leave me!” Jennie jerked awake, sitting up quickly. She stared about her in confusion, shivering at the intensity of emotion the dream had aroused. What had it all meant? Was he going to go away and leave her here?
“Jennie? Are you all right?” Cazador asked, climbing down from his lookout perch.
“Yes. Yes I think so.” She sounded more confident than she felt. “It was just a bad dream.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive,” she stated firmly, not wanting him near; not wanting him to find out how big a part he had played in her nightmare. “Is your watch almost over?”
“No. I’ve still got a couple of hours to go. Why don’t you try to go back to sleep? I’ll be right here.”
“All right.” Jennie reluctantly lay back down and this time, when she drifted off, she slept deeply and dreamlessly.
Rick’s hours on guard seemed to drag on into eternity. Alone and past the point of exhaustion, he could no longer fight off the memories he had held at bay for so long. They returned full force, etched in blood in his mind: the mountains, the Indians, the useless slaughter, and the gold.
Until now, Rick had thought that he had come to accept the horror of the massacre all those years ago, but now he knew that he hadn’t. It haunted him again this night, returning to fill him with an overwhelming sense of dread, and he girded himself against it. There was no way to avoid it; he was going back. Back to the Superstitions; back to face the Apache if fate so decreed; back to relive the most painful, agonizing time of his life. But this time, he swore viciously, he would come out the victor, not the vanquished.
He was thankful when the end of his watch neared for he needed distraction from the torment of his memories. Approaching Jennie silently, he stood above her, letting her loveliness soothe the burning emotions inside of him. When he bent down to lift her into his arms, she stirred and looked up at him sleepily.
“Hello.” Her smile was soft and inviting.
“It’s time to go back,” Rick said quietly.
“Oh.” She blinked sleepily and then her open expression suddenly became guarded. Shrugging away from him, she answered quickly, “All right, but there’s no need for you to carry me. I can walk.” She struggled to her feet and stepped away from him as he, too, stood up. “I’ll follow you down.”
Rick picked up the bedroll and led her back down to the camp. He stopped long enough to wake Ray and then directed Jennie to the far side of the clearing where he quickly arranged the blanket into their makeshift bed.
“Come here,” he ordered after he’d made himself as comfortable as possible.
With Luis and Ray so close by, Jennie obeyed unquestioningly but she was nervous and on edge. Tensely she lay beside him, taking care not to let their bodies touch in any way.
Rick could feel the tension in her and wondered at it, for she was, after all, no stranger to his touch.
“Jennie, try to relax.”
“I am relaxed,” she lied and then hastened, nervously, to convince him. “I’ll be asleep in just a minute.”
When Rick shifted position and accidentally brushed against her, Jennie jerked away from him.
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” he demanded irritably. “I held you all day while we were riding and you weren’t this jumpy then.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve never slept with a man before.” She hated making the admission after his caustic statement about naive young virgins.
Her statement jarred him, but he managed to maintain his composure and said, “Believe me, you don’t have a thing to worry about, because that’s all we’re going to do—sleep. Now, lie still. I need some rest.” And without another word, he turned on his side and slipped an arm possessively about her waist. Pulling her against him he rearranged the blanket over both of them.
The heat of his lean male body sent a shiver of expectancy through her.
Rick, thinking her chilled, drew her even closer and said, “You’ll be warmer in a minute.”
And indeed she was warmer, but not in the way Rick thought. A flare of sensual heat flushed through her as his hand rested innocently just below the tempting swell of her breast. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to stroke that sensitive flesh or release her and leave her in peace.
Part of her longed for that intimate caress she had experienced only briefly this morning, and she remembered with pleasure his kiss. But the memory of his deliberate coldness afterward and his stated dislike of virgins stifled any attempt she might have made to recapture that moment. Forcing herself to endure Rick’s unintentionally arousing touch, she stirred fitfully against him, seeking comfort. Finally, nestled in his arms, she drifted off.
Rick, however, found sleep more difficult to come by. Her guileless snuggling against him was more sexually exciting than anything he’d ever experienced before, and he had to fight down the fires of his desire. Rick wondered wearily how he was going to refrain from making love to her over the next long weeks when she was so desirable and so attractive.
Dragging his thoughts away from her, he cast one last glance in Luis’s direction to make sure everything was quiet. Closing his eyes, Rick sought relief from Jennie’s naive, erotic torture in the restful oblivion of sleep.
Chapter Seven
The campfire was burning low, its faltering flames sputtering forth in desperate final flares of golden light until its strength ebbed and it retreated in surrender to its final destiny: the fading warmth of the glowing embers.
Gathered around the dying blaze, the men of the M Circle C were quiet as their thoughts dwelled on Jennie and what they would find when they continued their search for her the next day. Mac, Jake, Todd, and Steve were sitting slightly apart from the others
, the tone of their conversation intense as they plotted their strategy for catching the desperadoes.
“She can’t be dead!” Mac was barely able to control his anguish.
“I don’t think she is. If they were going to kill her, Pa, they would have done it this morning when they shot Todd.” Jake tried to rationalize the outlaws’ actions.
“Do you think they’re planning to make a ransom demand?” Todd asked.
“We’d have heard something by now,” Mac concluded defeatedly. “No, they wanted to take her along. And we all know why.”
“Then we have to hurry.”
“If we ride out at sunup, we stand a good chance of catching up with them by late tomorrow,” Steve told them hopefully. “They can’t possibly keep up the pace they set today.”
“Why not?”
“There’s four of them on three horses.”
“You mean whoever’s got Jennie is riding double with her?”
“Yeah.” Steve was quiet for a moment, debating whether to tell them the bad news. “But there’s one other thing and it might prove a problem for us.”
“Well, what is it?” Mac demanded, wanting to know all the possibilities.
“They’re heading due north—toward the Superstitions. If they should get to the mountains before we can catch up, it’ll be virtually impossible to find them.”
“Then we’ll ride our damn horses into the ground tomorrow if we have to, but we’re going to catch those bastards and get my daughter back!” he said savagely.
Steve stood. “We’d better turn in soon then. Jake, you want to take first watch?”
“Sure.” Jake got up to follow Steve. “I’ll see you in the morning, Pa.”
“Fine,” Mac answered curtly.
“Good night.”
After Steve and Jake had gone, Mac turned to Todd, despair written plainly on his features. “If they’ve harmed Jennie in any way, I’ll personally see them all dead! She’s all I’ve got.”
Todd glanced up at him quickly, glad that Carrie had already retired and had not heard his comments. He couldn’t understand why Mac continually chose to ignore Carrie. Here the poor girl had risked life and limb just to join the search for her sister, and Mac had treated her as if she’d committed a crime.
“What about Carrie, Mac?” Todd ventured, keeping his voice low. “She’s your daughter, too.”
“Carrie?” He snorted derisively. “That girl has caused me nothing but trouble since the day she was born.”
“Surely you don’t mean that—”
“I do mean it.”
“But she’s a lovely young woman—beautiful and intelligent—”
“Todd, I don’t want to hear it. Of course, she’s beautiful. She looks just like her mother and—” Mac suddenly cut himself off. “Never mind. It’s not important. I’m just tired. I’m going to get some rest, and I’d advise you to do the same.” Getting up, he walked away without another word, his shoulders slumping under the weight of his worry.
Puzzling over his harsh judgement of Carrie, Todd painfully got to his feet and headed to where he’d placed his bedroll near hers. His shoulder was throbbing and his whole body ached from the long hours in the saddle. Pausing to stretch, he unconsciously favored his injured side.
“Todd?”
“Carrie?” He was surprised to find that she was still awake. “I thought you’d gone to sleep.”
“I couldn’t. I was too worried,” she told him, trying to sound earnest. “Your shoulder—is it bothering you a great deal?”
“Just a tinge now and then.” Todd tried to dismiss his discomfort.
“Why don’t you let me take a look at it? It probably needs to have the bandage changed anyway.” She brushed back her blanket and went to Todd. “Sit down and I’ll try to be as fast and painless as possible.”
“Thanks,” Todd said gratefully as he lowered himself to sit on his covers. Quickly unbuttoning his shirt, he stripped it off, taking care not to disturb the wrapping. “Is there enough light?”
“I should be able to see,” Carrie murmured as she knelt in front of him. She wanted to caress that broad expanse of his lightly furred chest but she held herself in check, knowing that this was not the right time or place. With gentle fingers, she concentrated on the task at hand and tenderly began to pry the soiled bandage from his wound. “There.” She breathed an audible sigh of relief when it came loose. “Now, let’s take a look.”
The injury was ugly but beginning to heal. Carrie cleaned it thoroughly and reapplied the antiseptic she’d used earlier that day. Then, using the fresh bandages that they’d brought along, she rewrapped his shoulder and helped him with his shirt.
“Feel any better now?”
Todd finished buttoning his shirt and flexed his arm to test its mobility. “It is easing up a little.”
“Good. If you need anything else, just let me know.” She hesitated in front of him, wanting to throw herself into his arms but knowing that it was too soon.
“I will. You go on to bed now. We’re going to be riding out of here early in the morning, so try to get as much sleep as you can.”
“All right. Good night, Todd.”
“Good night, Carrie. And Carrie?”
“Yes?” She turned to him, hopefully.
“Don’t worry too much about Jennie. We’re going to find her and bring her back.” Todd thought he was reassuring her.
“I know,” Carrie responded, forcing herself to hide the bitterness she felt at his remark. Was Jennie all he ever thought about?
Resentfully, she lay down, pulling the blanket tightly about her. What did she have to do to make him notice her? A burning restlessness seized her as she watched Todd bed down nearby. She wanted to be lying with him. She wanted him to hold her in his arms and make love to her.
Annoyed at the effect her imagination was having on her body, Carrie rolled over and closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would release her from her sudden desires.
It was well after midnight when the sound of voices woke her from her unsettled sleep. Listening intently, she recognized Steve’s and Jake’s voices, and she watched from beneath lowered lashes as Jake went on to bed and Steve began his turn at guard.
The heat that her thoughts of Todd had created had not abated, and the chance to be alone with Steve excited her. Carrie bided her time until she was certain Jake was asleep and then quietly left her bed in search of Steve.
“Steve?” Carrie’s voice was hushed as she left the circle of sleeping men and ventured out past the boulders that encircled the camp.
Steve was stunned when he heard her soft call. He had been wanting some time alone with her, but he had not expected her to come to him so brazenly and so soon. Smiling to himself with confident male pride, he called out to her. “Here.”
Carrie didn’t care that at any moment they might be discovered; if anything she found the prospect stimulating and wondered how Todd would react to finding her in Steve’s arms. Would he think of her as a woman then?
“Carrie, what are you doing up at this time of night?”
“Looking for you,” she replied in sultry tones, moving toward him with sinuous grace.
At that moment, Carrie was the ultimate female predator, and Steve was her more than willing prey. Watching her approach, he was fascinated. She was gorgeous. Her long blond hair was loose and flowing about her as she walked, and those tight-fitting pants—His body responded to just the sight of her.
“I thought we could use a little time alone.” She stopped tantalizingly close before him.
Steve smiled easily, confident of his ability to please her. “We could use a lot of time alone, but right now we’ll have to settle for what we can get.”
Snaring her, he drew her back with him behind the dark protection of the surrounding rocks. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her, the rawness of his need obvious in his devouring embrace.
Carrie responded physically to Steve’s passion, but her thoughts we
re of Todd: Todd loving her, caressing her, entering her. She moaned as Steve’s hands slid appreciatively downward over her snug pants to cup her buttocks and hold her fully to his throbbing hardness.
“A lot of time,” Steve murmured, grinding his hips against hers suggestively.
Carrie went wild with the sensations his arousal inspired, and she tried to put all thoughts of the other man from her mind as she matched his movements.
“Please—” Her words were low and seductive in his ear as she moved hungrily against him, wanting to ease the ache inside her.
Unbuttoning her blouse, he bared her hard-tipped breasts and covered them with heated kisses. As his tongue teased the taut sensitive peaks, a raging fire of desire surged through her entire body, and she arched to him, begging for more.
As his mouth sought hers again, his hands worked diligently to free her from her pants. Carrie kicked off her boots and then, ending the kiss, she stepped slightly away to slide the offending garment over her slim hips. Moving provocatively back into his arms, she reveled in the feel of his body against her.
With little hesitation, Steve backed Carrie against one of the boulders. After removing his breeches, he lifted her, guiding her legs about his waist and plunging into her pulsating depths.
Carrie wrapped herself tightly around him and clung to his shoulders as the spiral of her passion began to grow taut, coiling with ever-tightening pleasure within her.
She could surrender her body to the burning heat of Steve’s ardor, but she couldn’t completely yield her thoughts. As her climax neared, in her mind it was Todd who was holding her and as she attained that peak of sensuous release, she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out his name.
When Steve felt the throbbing thrill of her sated splendor, he drove deeply into her in a lustful frenzy. Losing himself in the ecstasy of his own need, he shuddered as the excitement pulsed through him, leaving him spent but satisfied.
As his motions ceased and he rested, Carrie slid down his body and leaned against him. Though her body was sated, she felt strangely empty. Frowning to herself, she moved away from him and began to dress.
