Dorothy Garlock - [Colorado Wind 03] (17 page)

When it was Mary Ben’s turn to take the first watch, Henry would stand it with her as he had done for the past week. He would also stay with Vanessa when she took the second watch. It was Kain’s idea that she and Mary Ben take turns and that Henry stay with them. It was a way, he had explained to Ellie, to give Henry some responsibility.

John and Ellie had gone to bed, and Henry and Mary Ben, with the yellow dog beside them, had settled down for the first watch. Vanessa moved quietly to the outer edge of the camp where Kain had opened his bedroll. She wanted to share her anxiety with him; the burden was just too great for her to bear alone. In his calm manner, Kain would know what to do.

She stood hesitantly a few feet away from him, not knowing that he had watched her from the time she left the wagon, and that his heart had begun to pound with a new rhythm. Her hair was untied and hung down to her waist. She looked so small and so lonely, standing there. He lay still, gazing at her. Hungrily his eyes slid over her slim figure, silky hair and light face. God, he thought. Did she know what she as doing to him? She was so sweet, so beautiful, and he was trying so hard to keep distance between them. He had no future beyond Junction City, and he loved her too much to take her for just a few short months or weeks. And the thought of her seeing him at the end was unbearable.

“Kain? Are you awake?”

“I’m awake. What’s wrong?”

“I . . . want to talk to you.”

“Can’t it wait till morning?”

The harshness of his query cut her to the heart. Vanessa felt a knot in her throat and incipient moisture under her eyelids. She was struck speechless for a moment. She hadn’t expected him to be angry with her for seeking him out. And then the hurt blossomed to indignation.

“No, it can’t wait until morning,” she said sharply. “I have something to tell you that I especially want to keep from Aunt Ellie.”

“If it’s about Henry and Mary Ben—”

“It’s
not
about Henry and Mary Ben. It’s about one of the men who stole our mules—the dark one, Primer Tass.” There was a break in her voice, and then a pause while she swallowed with difficulty. “He told me to tell you that he’d be waiting for you . . . up ahead. I thought you should know so you can be prepared to defend yourself. That’s all I have to say. I’ll not take up any more of your time.” She turned to go.

Kain rose from the bedroll as if pulled by invisible strings as soon as she said the man’s name. John had told him what he knew of Primer Tass, and it was all bad.

“Vanessa!” he hissed. “Come back here.” He got to his feet and grabbed her arm. “Where did you see Tass? Was he here?”

“He was down by the river, where we set the boiling pot to wash.” Just saying the words made her voice shake.

“Goddamn!” Kain swore in a husky whisper. “Tell me,” he demanded roughly, “did that bastard . . . force himself on you?”

Vanessa turned a stricken face toward him, and words gushed out of her mouth like water out of a fountain. “Oh, Kain! He was behind me when I turned. I was washing myself . . . I had my shirt off! He’d watched me bathe! He looked me over with those snakey eyes. They’re awful!” She shuddered. “I shouldn’t have gone down there without my gun, but it wouldn’t have made any difference, he’s so . . . quick. He pounced on me when I turned to run. He pinched me and rubbed me against him.”

“Did he . . . did he molest you?” The question tore out of his throat in a hoarse, desperate whisper. She could feel trembling in the hands that gripped her shoulders so tightly it pained her. “Did he? Tell me, goddamn it! Did he violate you?”

“What . . . do you mean?”

“Goddamn it to hell! You know what I mean! Did he go inside you?”

“No! No, not that. He touched me . . . in places and he kissed me. His mouth was all wet and slobbery. I was so scared, Kain, and I wanted to throw up.” She felt once again the chill of panic, then her nerves steadied. Kain was with her. “I bit him, though,” she said spiritedly. “I wanted to kill him!”

“Jesus Christ!” Kain was so relieved he didn’t realize that he had pressed her down on the bedroll and flung himself down to sit beside her. His arms slid around her and he held her so tightly against his chest she could scarcely breathe. “I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance.” His voice was muffled against her hair.

“Oh, no! I’m glad you didn’t try. He might have killed you!”

“John said I’d have to kill him sooner or late. He said you don’t give a snake a second chance at you, and by God, he’s right. If Tass comes near you again I’ll shoot him down like a mad dog, without a second thought!”

“He said to tell you he’d be waiting for you.” The pent-up tension of the day came flooding out in the form of tears that ran down her cheeks and seeped into her mouth. She didn’t want him to see her cry and tried to move away from him, but his arms held her. For a moment she resisted the pressure of his embrace, then suddenly she hid her face against his chest in a rush of anguished despair.

“What else did he say?” he prompted gently.

“He said that then it would be . . . just him and me.” The last word came out on a sob. “And, Kain . . . he cut my hair! He cut a big chunk out of the top to take away with him.” She took his hand and carried it to the top of her head where the stubby ends barely covered her scalp.

Anger and jealousy sent waves of rage reverberating through him. His fingers fondled the inch-long hair, then cupped the back of her head and held it to him. The thought of another man—especially a man like Primer Tass—touching her in private places and having a strand of her hair to carry with him brought a predator’s gleam to his leonine eyes.

“He wants you.” His voice was low and harsh. “The nervy bastard!” He was quiet for a moment, then murmured, “At the same time I can hardly blame him.” He moved back, staring at her, and asked in a controlled voice, “Why didn’t he take you when he had the chance?”

“He said he wasn’t ready, that he had things to do first. He talked of taking me to the mountains.” Her words were muffled against him when she hid her face against his shirt. His big arms squeezed her more tightly.

“That’s probably his territory, the mountains of New Mexico or even south of the border. He’s thinking you have money in that fancy wagon. He’ll need someone to help him get it, because he knows he’ll have to go through John and me.”

“That
fancy
wagon has been nothing but trouble. What are we going to do, Kain? What can we do? He’s been watching us and he said he knew that you’re . . . not my man.”

“How does he know that?”

“He said we didn’t sleep together.” In this sweet intimacy the words came out unhesitantly.

Kain was silent for the duration of a few heartbeats. “There’s been only a few places where he could get close enough to see much without us knowing he was there. From now on we’ll camp out in the open.”

“He’s going to try to kill you. Can’t we report him to the soldiers at the forts?” she asked hopefully.

“They’re not here to police civilians. Even if they were they wouldn’t go after him for just making a threat.” His hand absently stroked the length of her hair while he spoke.

An owl spoke mournfully from the cottonwoods down near the river. Was it an owl? Or was Primer Tass calling to a friend of his? Vanessa clutched Kain’s arm and snuggled closer to him. Being in his arms was marvelously comforting.

“Do you think we should go on alone?”

“It’s the only thing to do. He could lose himself among a crowd of people. Out on the trail he’ll have to come at us point-blank.”

“I’m afraid for you, Kain. He said several times he was going to kill you. And he said it calmly, as if he had no doubt.” She pulled back and looked up into his face. “You were gone a long time today and I was afraid he’d found you. I watched and waited for you to come back. It would break my heart if you—if something happened to you!” Her attempt to speak calmly was weakened by the depth of her emotion. She gave no thought to her words or her actions. Her arms wound around his waist and she clutched him to her fiercely.

His hoarse, ragged breathing accompanied the thunder of his heartbeat as the realization of what she had said came to him. She was saying she cared for him—maybe even loved him! She was distraught, he thought, and frightened. She didn’t realize what her words implied.

“You don’t need to be afraid, Vanessa. I’ll take care of Tass. He’ll have to go through me to get to you again. And I’ll see you and Ellie safely to Junction City. Then I’ve got things to do—”

“Thunderation!” Anger stiffened her body. “Do you think that all I care about is staying out of the clutches of Primer Tass and getting to Junction City? I’ll blow his worthless head off before I let him take
me.
It’s
you
he wants to kill. He’ll wait behind a boulder and ambush you! That’s his way. He’ll not come at you head-on. Don’t you understand that? He hates you because you showed him up that morning. And it’s my fault for not staying out of sight like you told me to.” Her anger dissipated, and tears of rejection and humiliation poured down her cheeks. She lowered her head until all he could see was her bowed head.

“Vanessa, girl, I didn’t mean—”

“Oh, yes, you did! You think I’m throwing myself at you! Good women don’t do that, do they? They wait for the man to speak first.”

“I’ve never had anyone so sweet, or so beautiful thrown at me. I just didn’t know how to react.” He chuckled and a wild, wonderful feeling engulfed him.

“Don’t laugh at me.”

The sad note in her voice whipped him into speech. “Vanessa, darlin’ girl,” he murmured, the endearment coming unknowingly from his lips. He lifted her face with a firm hand beneath her chin and pressed his cheek to her wet one. “I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing because it makes me feel good to know that you’re concerned for me.”

“It’s the . . . same.” Her heart fluttered and she drew her face back to look at him.

“No, ma’am, it isn’t.” He grew tongue-tied looking down into her white face, and the absurdity of it made him half angry. Her eyes glistened in the darkness and her breath came out in little buffs of warmth. His amber eyes drank in every feature as if he wished to imprint them on his soul. They stared at each other for a moment that was so still it seemed time had stopped.

Looking into his eyes, Vanessa felt a wild, heated longing stab her body and race through her veins with the speed of lightning. She raised both arms, letting her hands move up his chest to his shoulders. The buckskin shirt was smooth and soft beneath her fingertips. Her hands reached his throat, moved up beneath his ears, and paused. She could feel soft, silky hair against her fingers, and moved them around to the back of his neck. His hair came to the top of his shirt and was cut off bluntly. The boldness of her action sent a thrill of excitement through her. Her fingertips wandered up to his eyes, traced the straight brows above them, traversed the slope of his nose down to his lips, and traced the scar that slashed across his cheek.

Then slowly, haltingly, she gathered her hair in her hand, lifted it and wrapped it about his neck, binding him to her. Again she slipped her hands into his hair at his nape, let them remain there and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. It was a moment in which they both knew that something had changed forever. For as long as they lived there would be a bond between them.

Kain could feel life pounding in his throat, his temples. He was achingly aware of her small, firm breasts, warm clinging arms and her breath on his neck, and the intimacy of her body resting so trustingly against his sent a wave of desire through him. He forgot there was no future for him, nothing but this moment.

As if compelled by forces stronger than he, Kain lowered his head and pressed gentle kisses to her wet eyes, and sipped at her tears with utter gentleness. Then a sound of urgent longing escaped his throat, and he whispered against her lips, “Vanessa, Vanessa . . . I can’t help myself.”

Their breaths mingled for an instant before he covered her mouth with his. He kissed her lingeringly, tasting her mouth, learning its shape and texture, but softly, gently, as though she were infinitely fragile and precious. The streak of flame spreading through his groin jolted him, and he drew her closer, holding her tightly against him, drinking in her sweetness until his senses reeled. Her body was pliant against his, his lips soft and clinging, and he took them hungrily, again and again.

“I wish—oh, God, how I wish I’d met you sooner,” he murmured against her lips, and there was pain in his voice. His mouth trailed over her cheek, along the curve of her jaw and down the column of her throat. “You’re so sweet, so sweet,” he muttered feverishly, then caught her mouth again, desperately needing the taste of her, rubbing her lips with his until they parted so his tongue could roam her soft inner lips.

Time was lost in the hot excitement flowing from his body to hers and back again. He was loath to end it and his mouth trailed over her eyelids, her cheeks and her firm little chin before nuzzling in the softness of her hair.

“Sweet, sweet, wonderful Vanessa. I never meant to . . . kiss you like that.” He stuttered and tremors shook his tall frame. He kissed her again, reclaiming her full bottom lip in a long, fiercely possessive kiss.

“I never knew kissing was so wonderful,” she said weakly while he was placing small kisses along the line of her jaw. “I feel like I have no bones, no muscles.”

“It isn’t always this wonderful.” His voice was thick and husky.

“I didn’t think it was. It was special, wasn’t it, Kain?”

“For me it was.”

Her hand moved to his cheek. “For me, too, my darling Kain. How did you get this scar?”

“By being careless. I took a man’s gun, but not his knife.”

“You’ve been to a lot of places I’ve never heard of. Have you known many . . . women?”

“A few. But none as beautiful as you.”

“I like to hear it, even if I don’t believe it. Kain? I feel so much better about . . . Primer Tass. You’ll be careful?”

“Of course.” Just looking at her and holding her gave him pleasure. Feeling the swell of her breast, her firm hips and breathing in the scent of her breath sent a golden warmth spreading through him.