by Jodi Thomas
Finally, he walked to the water and squatted down five feet from her. "Talk to me, Sage. I miss you”
"I don't have anything to say and, if I did, I'd probably use the wrong words, and you'd bite my head off."
"I didn't bite your head off."
"Yes you did." She kept working, beating the clothes as he was sure she would have liked to beat on him.
He moved a few more feet away for safety and changed the subject. "God, how I've missed touching you. Sometimes at night I can almost feel your skin. You've got the softest skin in a few places. Like just under your breasts. I-"
"Stop it," she snapped. "You said you wouldn't speak of such things."
"Me? You're the one who didn't keep your word. You forgot about my one rule.”
"I didn't forget. I decided you wouldn't be interested." He frowned. "Doing my thinking for me now. Doc?"
"Well, somebody needs to. You obviously don't waste time doing any."
He took a step toward her and noticed the braves standing behind her at the tree line. Four men, all with arms folded. All watching. They might not hear or understand what he was saying, but he had no doubt that if he laid one hand on Sage, they had orders what to do.
Drum backed away. "You know, Sage, lately, I'm starting to believe in reincarnation.”
She looked up at him as if he'd lost his mind.
"I figure I must have had an earlier life and done something terrible. That's why I've got to go through this life attracted to only one woman in the world and she determined to either kill me or drive me insane. No matter how I look at it, wanting you is terminal.”
She didn't look like she cared.
He fought down his irritation. "But we made an agreement by your grandfather's time clock, and I've lived up to my half. You don't have to even talk to me, but I want you to meet me at the stand of oaks between here and the camp at dusk and live up to your word."
She stood and walked away without even looking back.
So much for being forceful, he thought. She'd come or stay in the camp, whichever she liked. He had a feeling his demands had very little to do with it.
How could he tell her that he didn't want to own her, or boss her around, or control her? He just wanted to be with her as an equal. But part of Sage was still the princess of Whispering Mountain, and part of him was still the outlaw kid. Until she saw him as her man, nothing would really change between them, even if he did kiss her.
Drum stayed away from the camp most of the afternoon. If his mood got any blacker, it would block the sun. He rode in and tied Satan to one of the oaks just as the sun was touching the horizon. Turning, he watched the sunset, not allowing himself to stare at the camp to see if she was coming.
He didn't wait long before he heard her steps, but he didn't move until she touched his arm. He turned and kissed her with all the longing he'd felt for days.
She was cold in his arms for a few seconds, then she warmed little by little. She wasn't kissing him back, but she wasn't protesting. He kissed her as tenderly as he could, even though every muscle in his body wanted to crush her against him.
When she pulled away, he fought for a moment before letting her go. She didn't say a word. They turned and walked toward the campfire. They weren't touching, but he no longer felt the cold. As usual, they hadn't made peace, they'd only drawn a truce. It wasn't what either one of them wanted, but it would have to do.
As they ate, he said a few words to her, and she nodded. She passed him a slice of meat, and he thanked her. Drum spent the night alone, in thought. There were so many things about her he admired. He even found her temper fascinating to watch. The fact that she didn't like him most of the time didn't bother him; that fact hadn't changed in years. The fact that she wouldn't sleep with him did. He knew she wanted to. Maybe she was waiting for him to say the right words, but he wouldn't draw her in with fancy talk. If she came to him, she'd come for one reason: she couldn't stay away.
The next night she met him again. When he kissed her, he felt her warming in his arms. The kiss lasted a long time before she pulled away. As before, she turned without speaking to him.
"Good night," he whispered.
She didn't answer.
The following evening, she came to him wrapped in a blanket for warmth. Fog had moved in, making them seem even more isolated in the stand of trees. He gently pushed her against the trunk of the oak and opened the blanket. Then, leaning, he pressed his body hard against hers as he began the kiss.
She lifted her arms, enclosing them both with the blanket. He deepened the kiss as his hands brushed along her ribs. She reacted, pulling him to her and returning his kiss with passion. He laughed at the slight moan she whispered into his ear as his hand moved over her breast.
She was hungry for his touch. His wild Sage of fire could not stay ice for long.
As the sun's gray light faded and the oak branches shaded them completely, he slowly drove her mad with his caress. One thought crept in with all the feelings raging in his mind and body: He wondered if they could go a lifetime without talking and live each night like this. She was liquid fire in his arms, playful, loving, and demanding, and he was her mate.
When she pushed away, he let her go, even though every part of him wanted her to stay. She staggered, still out of breath.
"I'll walk you back," he whispered, pressing a kiss on her forehead.
"No," she said. "I'm all right."
He put his arm around her shoulders. "I'll see you to your door.”
Thanks to the fog, they moved through the camp without seeing anyone, even though the sounds of people moving and talking drifted around them. Tonight the meal would be taken in tepees.
As they rounded her tent, he pulled her between the thick racks of leaves and plants she was drying. "I have to kiss you again. I'm not ready to say good night." He cupped her face. "Do you mind?"
"No," she answered, opening her blanket once more. "I'm also in the mood for more”
He'd sworn when he was ten that he'd never say he was sorry for anything he said or did, but as he unbuttoned her blouse, he found himself whispering, "Forgive me," even though, for the life of him, he couldn't remember doing anything wrong.
"I always do." She laughed as he shoved his hand beneath the material and gripped her breast still warm from his touch. She leaned her head back as he lowered his mouth and tasted her flesh. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes."
His arm braced her back as he feasted on the softest spot he'd found. When he covered her wet breast with his hand and returned to her mouth, she melted against him in welcome.
She was his, warm and ready. She was his, he thought as he kissed her. She just didn't know it yet.
She was out of breath when he finally set her gently away from him.
"Come to me tonight, Sage. We're not finished.”
She let him hold her for a while before she answered, "I'll think about it.”
"Don't think. Come," he said as he let her go.
That night, around the small evening fire in Grandfather's tepee, neither said a word, but her gaze often rested on him, and he saw the passion building in her eyes.
The fog remained when he returned to his campsite. Tonight he couldn't see the Apache tents, and he felt totally alone. He lit a small fire so she could find him if she came, then he lay down and waited.
It was after midnight when he heard her cross through the trees. The swish of her skirt against the tall grass made him smile. Without a word, he lifted the blanket and let her slip in beside him.
Her body was cold against his. For a while, he just held her, warming her.
“Are you sure?" he whispered into her hair.
"I'm sure.” she answered. ”To my great surprise, it seems you're the one man I can't live without. I don't want to live without."
He waited until her heart slowed, then he began making love to her. She was ready, welcoming him against her, moving as he moved, answering every touch with one of her own.
<
br /> When he started to unbutton her blouse, she stopped him. "I can do it.” she whispered.
"No. I'd like to, if you've no objection.”
She moved her hand away. "All right. If it pleases you, go ahead."
"It pleases me greatly." He kissed her temple. "You made me very happy by coming tonight. Now it's my turn”
He leaned close and whispered of her beauty as his hands worked the buttons and ribbons free. She tried to unbutton his shirt, but her hands trembled, and he ended up rolling away to tug off his own clothes. When he returned and pulled her against him, she laughed nervously.
He brought her slowly to passion, taking time to caress every part of her. He pulled her hair free of the braids and wrapped it in his fist as he kissed her full and deep. When she was warm and shaking with need, he pressed his body over her, loving the way her soft curves molded against him in invitation.
When he pushed into her, she cried out softly, and he froze. Reason sliced through the desire, and he forced himself to lift his weight so that he was no longer crushing her, even though he didn't pull away.
"Am I hurting you?" he whispered in a voice raw with passion.
"No, not so much?" She took a deep breath and relaxed against him. "I knew it would be uncomfortable; I was a virgin” Her voice was low as her body moved, begging him to continue.
He didn't know how that was possible. He didn't care as he brushed away a tear on her cheek. All he cared about was that she was his, all his, only his. He kissed her deeply as he began to move inside her, easing away the pain as passion built once more.
Hesitantly she moved with him, and he laughed at the pure joy of feeling her beneath him. It seemed he'd dreamed of this night all his life, and the magic of it was so much more than he'd thought it would be.
Swearing, he finished before he'd pleased her. She didn't seem to understand or mind.
He rolled to his side and whispered, "It'll be better next time”
"It was perfect," she whispered. "Very nice.”
"No. It wasn't perfect, but it will be” He had to ask, "Are you sorry?"
"No” she answered, "and if it gets much better, I'll die from the joy of it." She cuddled beside him and fell asleep. He covered them both with the thick blanket and slept for the first time in weeks. Sage was with him.
At dawn, he came awake all at once as a shadow passed between him and the first beams of sunlight.
Drum pulled the blanket over her as he reached for his gun.
"No need for that gun." Daniel's familiar voice cracked the silence. "I best be getting my Bible out, though.” He rifled through his saddlebag. "I swear I'm using the book more lately than the bottle. Something must be in the air."
"What do you think you're doing?" Drum smoothed her hair off Sage's face as he tucked the blanket tightly about her shoulders.
"I don't want to be around when her brothers find out what you have been doing up here. I figure the only way to save your life is to marry you two right and proper.”
"We're already married.” Drum insisted as Sage continued to sleep.
"Sure you are.” Daniel said as if he didn't believe a word. He read a few lines, then said. "Do you take…"
“I do” Drum humored his friend.
"And do you, Doctor…"
"She does," Drum answered for her. "She already has." He shook her shoulder gently. "Wake up, wife. We've got unwanted company for breakfast.”
Sage opened sleepy eyes and stared up at Daniel just as he said, "Then, I pronounce you man and wife."
She opened her mouth to object.
Daniel added, "If I were you two, I'd get dressed. I rode in with your brother Travis, and as soon as he says hello to the chief, he'll be looking for you”
Daniel swung back up on his horse. "I think I'd be wise to vanish until the gunfire settles. Travis being an old Ranger won't take to talking before he starts shooting.”
Sage pulled the blanket over her head. "I think I'll lie right here and sleep.”
"Oh, no, you don't” Drum stood, picking up his trousers. "You might sleep, but if they find you like this, I'm the one who'll die. Get dressed, wife”
She picked up her clothes and tried to put them on beneath the blanket. "Don't talk to me. I'm still not speaking to you, and don't call me wife.”
"That's fine with me. How about we only communicate in moans after midnight? As long as you're here all warm and willing at night, I'll become mute all day.”
She tried to wiggle into her skirt. "Don't talk about it.”
He grabbed his shirt. "Fine. While we're not talking, why don't you explain to me how it could be possible that you're a virgin?"
"Was a virgin.” she corrected. "And I don't have to explain anything to you”
"But-"
"Oh, figure it out, Drummond.”
He stopped dressing and watched her trying to button up her clothes without seeing them. "First"-he smiled-"why are you hiding while you dress? There isn't a freckle on you I haven't seen, touched, and probably kissed.”
She saw his logic and tossed the blanket as she pulled her camisole over perfect breasts brushed by the sun.
"What's the second thing?" she asked as she laced up the silk with a ribbon.
Drum had forgotten. He was too busy staring. Finally when he was able to form words, he said, "Maybe we should both get back under the blanket.”
She glanced up at him then and smiled, almost knocking the air from his lungs. "Not a chance.” she said. "You told me to get dressed”
She was torturing him again, he thought, but about now he'd gladly die on the rack.
"Second," he managed to say, "your first husband must have been dead when you married him not to have touched you” The memories of their first kisses came back. "He didn't even kiss you, did he?"
Sage held her head high. "He was very involved in his work, and toward the end, he was very ill." She turned away, offering him a quick view of her backside as she slipped into her skirt.
Drum thought of saying they could be tossing dirt in his grave, and he'd still have touched her, but suddenly it hit him. He was her first. There was no first husband whom she'd slept with. He was her first. Just as she was his. That's why she hadn't said anything about their lovemaking not being right. She didn't know that there was more.
He frowned. That's also why he didn't do it right the first time. If he'd practiced, he would have been able to please her more, but practicing on another woman never seemed right.
He didn't see her tears until she turned around. He wondered if she was thinking of him or if she was sorry she'd given him such a precious gift. He knew she wanted him to say something to her. She probably wanted to hear the words of love that she'd said to him back at the ranch. But he couldn't say them. They rang too hollow in his mind. Couldn't she understand that he wanted her, needed her, every day of his life? Wasn't that enough?
"Are you sorry?" he had to ask one more time.
She looked up at him with unshed tears sparkling in her beautiful eyes. "No," she said. "I'll never be sorry.” She hesitated, then added, "Thank you for waiting until I came to you, Drum. By doing so you told me a great deal about the measure of you as a man.”
He was about to ask more when he heard a horse thundering toward them. "In-laws," he whispered, making her laugh.
CHAPTER 44
SAGE STEPPED INTO HER BOOTS JUST BEFORE HER brother Travis rode into their small campsite by the water.
He lowered himself slowly as he always did, nursing an old injury. The big man was dressed today like he had when he'd been a Ranger, in buckskin. He walked right past her and offered his hand to Drum.
"Roak." Travis said in his voice that could outshout an entire courtroom. "Grandfather tells me you are married to my sister."
Drum took his hand. "I'm probably the most married man you'll ever meet.”
Travis laughed. "See that you remember that”
Drum shook his head. "Don't start threateni
ng me. Travis.”
"I don't have to. I know my sister. I'm guessing she'd make herself a widow again before she'd put up with her man running around on her."
"I'm right here.” Sage commented, but neither of them looked her direction.
"I'm sorry I took so long to come in from Austin, but Will hired me to do some legal work."
"Will?" Sage and Drum said at once.
Travis pointed at the coffeepot, and everyone knew the talking wouldn't start again until he had a cup in his hand. She filled the pot with water and coffee, while Drum built up the fire. While the water boiled, she braided her hair and looked very proper by the time Drum passed her a cup.
Travis took a drink and began. "Will's father told him to always keep the family Bible with him, no matter what, and if trouble came to give it to a judge worth trusting. I guess he figured I was close enough, so he put it in my care. Since then, I've been piecing together facts and guesses, and this is what I've come up with."
Sage held her breath. She knew she'd still be in danger, but maybe Travis had found a way to make the boys safe so they wouldn't worry about raiders returning to murder them.
Travis leaned in close. "The boys' father has a bit of royal blood in him. Seems he was sixth in line to the throne of some small European country. When he was about five, his father died under questionable circumstances. His mother watched her oldest boy take the throne and die within the year. Her next son took over, but she had three other sons who were still children. She sent them to live in Virginia for safety. Everything was fine for years. The second boy king married and had children, so everyone forgot about the royals growing up in Virginia as they moved farther and farther away from being in line for the throne.”
"This sounds like some kind of fairy tale," Sage said.
"It gets better' Travis added, "or worse. The three boys must have grown up as Americans and probably had no reason to want to go back to an aging country in turmoil. That was fine with everyone until the king, their older brother, died in a fire.”
"Here's where I start guessing. It seems one of the three American brothers was killed soon after his brother died in the fire. Another, the oldest of the three, left for parts unknown more than ten years ago. He's thought to be dead. The third, and youngest, was Will and Andy's father. He must have feared being killed, or he wouldn't have kept moving west.”
