Arizona Temptress

by Smith, Bobbi

  Malo looked at him quickly and then spoke to Rick. “Cazador, you watch Peralta.”

  “But—”

  “Shut up, Luis. You will have your chance if we don’t find the mine and, perhaps, even if we do!” he said, and Luis stalked angrily away to take his place as guard at the lookout point. “We will leave at sunup,” Malo continued. “Be ready.”

  As the men dispersed, grumbling among themselves, Rick went to speak with Jennie for a minute.

  “I’ve got first guard duty,” he told her as he rummaged through his saddlebags for some jerky. “I should be back around midnight.”

  “Fine,” Jennie answered with little emotion.

  “I warned you once before about fighting me,” he said softly with considerable menace.

  “I’m not fighting you,” she replied simply, looking up at him defiantly.

  Rick muttered a violent curse under his breath and strode quickly away without another word, leaving Jennie alone to ponder his words.

  Juan looked up expectantly as Rick came to stand beside him. “You are my guard?”

  “Malo’s choice.”

  “He couldn’t have done better.” There was a smile in his tone.

  “No fires tonight, so I brought you some jerky.” Reaching down, Rick untied his grandfather’s hands and handed him the dried meat before stepping quickly away to assume a guardlike position.

  “Thank you,” Juan replied as he gratefully accepted the food. “You have news?”

  “According to Malo, we’ll be heading out at dawn. He expects us to get to the mine late tomorrow or the next morning. If not, he’s going to turn Luis loose on you.”

  “Ah, Luis.” He nodded. “A true compadre of Malo’s, I think.”

  “He is vicious but not as smart.”

  “I will remember.”

  “Do you want to stretch your legs before you turn in?” Rick felt a deep need to be away from the presence of the others.

  “Yes. It will be good to be alone for a while.” Juan go slowly to his feet.

  “I know,” he said under his breath as he directed him from the encampment.

  Lucia saw Cazador leading the old man away and, with a fast glance in Malo’s direction to make sure he wasn’t watching her, she quietly slipped away in pursuit. Pausing behind a massive boulder, Lucia waited for a chance to approach him.

  “It will all be over soon,” Rick was saying as he stood with Juan a goodly distance from the camp.

  “Have you a plan?”

  “Tomorrow, I’ll know for sure exactly what I’m going to do. Until then, we can continue as we are.”

  Lucia could not believe what she was hearing. Peralta and Cazador knew each other? What were they up to? Excited by what she had learned, she backed away from them, undetected. Her mind was racing as she wondered how best to use the information. Knowing that Malo would kill him if he found out, she knew she wouldn’t tell him. No, she decided, she wanted Cazador and she now had the means to get him. Smugly, she returned to camp and waited for just the right moment to face Cazador with what she knew.

  Chapter Fifteen

  It was a dark, moonless night, and in the most isolated corner of the campsite protected from prying eyes by the night’s ebony mantel, Lucia lay in wait for Cazador. She would have him! And soon! Tense with expectation, she found the thought of being held in his arms arousing and her body was alive with sensual excitement.

  Malo had passed out hours before from a combination of tequila and whiskey, and Lucia had then secreted herself in this distant part of the encampment to watch Cazador unawares and to await the end of his guard duty so that she could make her move. She knew she should be more cautious, but she didn’t care. Driven on by the need to possess him, Lucia dreamed only of his embrace as she gazed at him, committing to memory the leanness of his manly form as he stood sentinel in the silence.

  It was well past midnight when Ramon roused to take Cazador’s place as Peralta’s guard, and Lucia breathed a heavy sigh of relief for she had begun to think that her chance to be with him would never come.

  From her vantage point, Lucia watched as Cazador stretched tiredly, and she was overjoyed when he walked, not toward Jennie, but away from camp, back down the trail they had just traversed. Knowing that this would be the only time she could talk with him privately, she slipped from under the covers and moved quickly to follow.

  Rick strode wearily down the rocky hillside, his mind racing. Though he needed rest, he knew he would not afford the luxury of sleep just yet. Time was running out. Tomorrow, they would have to make their escape.

  Rick thought briefly of Jennie and of how stubborn and uncommunicative she had been today. Worrying that she would fight him when the time came for them to take flight, he knew the only way that things would go smoothly would be for him to tell her the truth. And, Rick decided, he would, but not until tomorrow, when he was certain of exactly what his plan of action would be.

  “Cazador!” Lucia’s whisper was hushed and urgent.

  At the sound of the voice so unexpectedly close by, Rick whirled about, his hand flying to his gun. Making out the form of a woman approaching, he relaxed only slightly as he recognized her. “Lucia?”

  “I need to talk to you,” she told him coming to stand boldly before him. “It’s most important.”

  “Where is Malo?” he asked warily as he holstered his sidearm.

  “He is sleeping. We will not be bothered and it is better that way.”

  “I have told you I have no need for another woman,” he began.

  “Ah.” Lucia smiled knowingly. “But I told you that one day you would want me, and I think that now, you will.”

  Rick’s eyes narrowed as he considered her. “Oh?”

  “Yes, you see, I overheard your conversation with Peralta. I know what you’re up to.” She reached out and toyed with a button on the front of his shirt.

  Rick reacted with a viciousness he had not thought himself capable of, grabbing her forcefully by her wrists and shaking her violently. “What are you talking about?” he demanded.

  Lucia felt a pang of fear as she looked up into his gleaming, predatory eyes. “I heard you say that tomorrow you would make your move.”

  “And?” He tightened his grip, uncaring if he bruised her.

  “And I know that you are here to rescue the old man.” She gasped, as it suddenly occurred to her that he might kill her. Quickly, she searched for a way to turn this moment to her advantage. “I have not told Malo and I don’t intend to, unless, of course, you force me into it.”

  “What do you want?” His tone was cold and deadly.

  “You,” Lucia said brazenly.

  Rick studied her upturned face, trying to read her thoughts. Lucia had the power of life and death over Juan, Jennie, and himself for hours now, and she had chosen not to use it. Did she really mean what she said?

  “You see, no one need know. I will even help you if you promise to take me with you when you go for I’m fed up with Malo and the way he treats me.” She took a step closer to him, in spite of his fierce expression and the firm hold he had on her. “And I will please you—much better than Jennie.” Lucia tossed her head.

  “Leave Jennie out of this,” he snarled.

  “Would you rather I tell Malo the truth about you? Do you know what would happen to your precious Jennie then?” she said.

  In disgust, Rick released her and pushed her away, trying to buy himself time to think. “I don’t believe you’d do it, Lucia.”

  “But you can’t be sure, can you Cazador?” she answered.

  Rick stood motionlessly as she strode back toward him, her hands on her hips, but when she got within reach, he reached out and hauled her up against him.

  “I don’t like to be pushed or maneuvered, Lucia. If you want to keep me happy, you’ll remember that in the future,” Rick told her cuttingly before he kissed her, his mouth grinding against hers in an exchange meant to conquer and cower.

  Thou
ghts of Jennie haunted him as he mechanically caressed Lucia. There was no gentleness in his touch. He roughly pushed her blouse from her shoulders, and he felt only a suppressed rage at having found himself in this situation. With precise expertise, he aroused her, his hands exploring her every curve.

  Lucia was so aflame with desire for him that she found even the pain he was inflicting as stimulating as the most gentle caress.

  “Yes. Oh, yes,” she whimpered as his lips left hers to seek the vulnerable length of her neck, arching to him when he lifted her tightly against him.

  With eager hands, she sought to inflame him, too, and Rick found himself responding to the wildness of her wanton touch, in spite of his determination not to. When Lucia slipped her hand within his pants to hold and caress him, he growled low in his throat and surged against her, his baser instincts urging him on.

  It was only the sound of a slipping rock that thrust them both back to reality.

  “What was it?” Lucia said, quickly pulling her blouse up to cover her breasts.

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “But it wasn’t Malo. If he’d seen us, we’d be dead.”

  Lucia shivered at the import of his words. “I will be more cautious in the future.” With a bold hand, she reached out to caress him, but Rick grabbed her wrist, effectively stopping her ploy.

  “No more. Go back now, while it’s safe.”

  “Tomorrow,” she told him with promise. “Tomorrow, Cazador.”

  Tense from their encounter, Rick watched Lucia go. Though she was a beautiful woman, he was not in any way attracted to her. He hadn’t wanted to make love to her and his body’s reaction to her manipulations had been only animal instinct. There had been no emotion involved on his part in the embraces he’d just shared with Lucia, and Rick was surprised at the unexpected feeling of guilt he experienced at having physically responded to her in any way. Even though he knew that he had only done what was necessary to assure their safety, the memory of Jennie’s tender lovemaking made the other woman’s possessive caresses seem somehow sordid.

  Thinking of Jennie as he stood there alone in the desert darkness, he suddenly needed to be with her, feeling that her nearness would purge his soul of Lucia’s physical extortion. Heading back toward camp, Rick was intent on tasting once again the beauty of Jennie’s love.

  Luis moved through the circle of sleeping men with a catlike stride. He glanced over to where Jennie was sleeping and knew that by the following night, she would be in his bed.

  Climbing into his bedroll, he smiled as he began to plan the best way to reveal to Malo exactly what was going on between Cazador and Lucia. He knew it would be more effective if he let them trap themselves and then claimed Jennie for himself. And, after what he had just seen, he knew that wouldn’t be hard to do.

  He saw Lucia hurriedly return to her bedroll, and his body hardened as he remembered her bared breasts and the avid way she had been caressing Cazador. Had it not been so late, he would have gone to Chica to seek momentary forgetfulness in the familiar heat of her well-used embrace. Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow he would have Jennie all to himself, and Malo would be most pleased with him.

  Rick stood on the outer edge of the encampment, scanning all who lay before him sleeping, hoping to find some clue as to who might have witnessed his passionate embrace with Lucia. But no one was stirring; all was quiet.

  The fact that there was no disturbance heartened him. Taking a chance that the dislodged stone they’d heard had only been a night animal on the prowl, Rick made his way to Jennie and lay down next to her, pleased that they were some distance from the others.

  Jennie had awakened a short time before to see Luis turning in. Knowing that Cazador would be ending his watch, too, she was unable to fall back asleep and was lying quietly beneath her one sheltering blanket, nervously awaiting his return.

  Jennie wasn’t quite sure what to expect from him tonight. They had been sparring verbally ever since this morning, but she knew that that would rapidly come to an end whenever Cazador chose to end it. All he had to do was touch her and she knew she would be lost. With that knowledge came a deep, abiding fear of him. She didn’t want to give in to him. He was cruel and ruthless. He was just like all the others.

  At the sound of footsteps, Jennie looked up to see Lucia returning stealthily to her pallet. And when Cazador followed her into camp a few minutes later, she knew why the other woman had been so intent on sneaking.

  They had been together! Again! A pain, that Jennie refused to acknowledge as jealousy, tore at her heart. She did not care that Cazador found Lucia more attractive. She would leave just as soon as she could get away and then when she got back home, Jennie decided in a flurry of irrational emotion she would marry Todd—if he would still have her!

  Huddling deeper into the warmth of the blanket, she pretended to be asleep as Cazador stretched out beside her. She thought for a moment that she had been saved from a confrontation with him, but then he turned and took her into his arms.

  Rick had thought Jennie asleep and had hoped to awaken her softly with gentle caresses and tender kisses. He did not want to argue with her, but the moment he touched her she recoiled from him as if she’d been burned.

  “No!” Jennie hissed, trying to wriggle free from his embrace. “Leave me alone!”

  “Jennie,” Rick snarled, his tone telling her all she needed to know about his mood. “Lie still.”

  Petrified and knowing that he would have his way regardless of her wishes, she quieted.

  “That’s better,” he murmured as he rose above her to kiss her softly.

  Jennie lay impassively as his mouth moved over hers, testing and taunting her. When she didn’t respond, he drew back to stare down at her. He was too tired this night to cajole her. He needed her to be loving and giving, not stiff and unyielding. Recognizing the mutinous look on her pale features, his jaw tightened and he spoke caustically.

  “If you wish to remain my woman, you had better learn to please me.”

  “I don’t want to be your woman! I never did! You forced me to come with you. You—”

  Before she could finish, Rick lost control. And though she struggled against his superior strength, it was for naught as he pulled her forcefully to him. Kissing her with an intensity that had nothing to do with passion, he forced her lips open and savagely raped the honeyed sweetness of her mouth. His hands were almost brutal, unbuttoning her shirt and pushing it down off her shoulders, entrapping her arms at her sides.

  When she started to scream, Rick clamped a heavy hand across her mouth. “You idiot! Do you want every man in camp waiting to take his turn with you?”

  Though Rick could read the terror in her eyes, she refused to stop fighting him, and he cursed low under his breath as he pinned her to the ground. Knowing the ony way to subdue her would be to force a response from her, Rick began to fondle her breasts, teasing the sensitive peaks to tautness.

  Jennie still tried to wriggle away, bucking wildly as she avoided his touch. but her movements only proved stimulating to Rick, and he threw a restraining leg across her thrashing ones, pressing the heat of his erection against her straining thigh. She groaned low in her throat as she felt the proof of his arousal, and she knew then that he would not be denied.

  Rick smiled slightly at her groan and then lowered his head to kiss the soft valley between her silken breasts. With lips and tongue, he traced burning patterns of delight upon her flesh, teasingly coming near but never quite touching the pink crests.

  The fire of need he was insidiously stirring to life within her was growing more and more out of control, and Jennie had to force herself to remain rigid, refusing to give into the powerful, heated flashes of desire that were throbbing through her loins. It was heaven and it was hell. He was in total control, using her just as he had this morning, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

  Logically she wanted to be free of his embrace. How dare he come to her after having been with Luci
a! But her body betrayed her, instinctively recognizing its mate even though she refused to. As his mouth descended to kiss the aching peak of her breasts, she surged wildly up against him, needing the feel of his hardened thighs driving against her.

  Lifting his head, Rick’s eyes met hers, reading the confusion in their passion-darkened depths.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, love,” he murmured as he moved his hand and stifled anything she might have said with a deep, heart-wrenching kiss.

  Jennie was past resisting, lost in the enthralling haze of passion’s glory as Rick moved erotically against her.

  “Please,” she gasped as his mouth left hers.

  “Please what, Jennie?” Rick encouraged, wanting to hear the words, needing to know that her vows of hatred earlier had been just wounded pride and jealousy and nothing more.

  “Oh, Cazador.” She twisted restlessly beneath him, yearning for closer contact.

  “Please what, Jennie?” he demanded, stopping all movements, forcing her to answer him truthfully.

  Looking up into his handsome face, Jennie knew she could no longer deny her need for him. Her body craved joining with his, no matter what he’d just done with Lucia. Later, she would think about that, but right now she didn’t want to think; she only wanted to feel.

  “Make love to me.” The words were a husky whisper.

  “Tell me you need me,” he pushed.

  Jennie almost balked at his confident tone.

  “Now Jennie,” he insisted.

  “I need you, Cazador.”

  Grateful for the cover of night, he moved away just enough to help her from the rest of her clothes before going back into her arms. Jennie was surprised that he hadn’t shed his own clothing, but at the touch of his hand on her burning flesh, she gave up all pretense of thought and surrendered to his masterful possession.

  With long ardent caresses, Rick stroked the satin softness of her flesh, kindling feelings within her that Jennie didn’t know existed. Rising above her and unbuckling his gunbelt, he set it nearby and undid his pants. No longer able to resist the seductive, inviting warmth of her, he plunged into her slick, velvety softness, losing himself even as he conquered her.