Magnificent Passage (44 page)

For a moment he faltered, a hint of uncertainty in his eye, as if he were remembering another time, another place. Then he shook his head, bringing his thoughts back to the present.

“So much the better, little lady,” he said. He grinned at her, enjoying her distress.

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, feeling the point of the blade and a new trickle of blood.

“Let her go, Gutterman,” instructed a menacing voice, deep and calm.

Mandy would have known that rich timbre anywhere. She couldn't move beneath the sergeant's heavy weight, but her searching gaze found the man she had missed so
much. He stood in the doorway, his feet apart, his face a mask of controlled calm. Her heart pounded. A lump formed in her throat and tears touched her eyes. Her chest constricted as a fierce joy wrapped around her heart.

“You!” Gutterman cringed with fear, but kept the knife pressed firmly to her throat. “Stay away from me or I'll kill her.”

“Like you tried to kill me?” Hawk circled his quarry, his moccasined feet padding softly. Buckskin fringe rippled as the muscles in his arms bunched.

“Don't come any closer. I'm warning you. I'll cut her deep—clean to the kid. I'll cut the brat right outa her belly.” A note of desperation touched his voice.

Hawk looked down at his beautiful wife. Her dark hair tumbled around her shoulders; the torn bodice of her dress exposed a glimpse of smooth skin. There was no swell to her stomach, but he didn't doubt the truth of Gutterman's words. “Let her go, and you might live,” he threatened, continuing to move closer.

Gutterman dragged Mandy to her feet. His thick fingers bruised the soft flesh across her ribs. He held the knife dangerously close to her throat.

Mandy saw Hawk tense. “Please, my love,” she cautioned. “What he said about the babe is true.”

Hawk ignored her, his mind fixed on a singular purpose. He was almost within reach of his prey.

“Get back! You hear me!” Gutterman looked wild-eyed, panic written on his face.

Mandy felt him move the knife away for just a second. She opened her mouth and sank her teeth down hard into
the wrist that held the blade. With a shriek of pain, Gutterman knocked her to the floor. Her head thumped the table; for a second she thought she might black out.

Hawk was on top of Gutterman in an instant, wrenching the blade from his grasp and grappling with the heavy man. They crashed to the floor, fighting head to head, first one on top, then the other. Gutterman held the knife away from his throat, his strength nearly matching Hawk's own. Twisting to the side and using his body as a lever, Hawk changed tactics and caught Gutterman by surprise. Hawk rolled on top, pinned Gutterman beneath him, and forced the blade home, driving it deep into his heaving chest. Blood gurgled from the man's mouth as he gasped out a final breath.

Dazed, Mandy's mind blotted out the grisly scene. All she could see was the handsome face of her husband. Hawk rose swiftly and started toward her. Her senses reeled. Though he moved quickly, it was as if in slow motion. She noticed the thick sandy hair falling across his forehead, the soft brown velvet eyes looking at her lovingly just as she imagined each night before she fell asleep. For a moment she feared she might be dreaming. Then his powerful arms were around her, his tanned cheek pressed against hers.

“Oh, Sam . . . Sam. I thought I'd lost you again.” Hawk felt a catch in his throat. “God, how I've missed you. It was agony not knowing if you were safe, wanting to get word to you, wanting to be with you again.” He kissed her tenderly, trying to express the anguish he had suffered these past weeks. He lifted her gently and carried her into the parlor, cradling her in his arms as he sat down. His hand trembled slightly as he unintentionally brushed a full breast. “I've missed you so much.”

There was so much to say, yet no words would come. Mandy clung to Hawk's neck. She kissed his cheek, his eyes, then his mouth. “I love you,” she whispered, the words choked by her tears.

She wrapped her arms tighter around him, and he tightened his hold on her. She forgot the lonely weeks, forgot the painful memories. There were a thousand questions to ask, but there would be time for that later.

Hawk used a piece of torn cloth to wipe the blood from beneath her chin. The wound was only superficial. He pressed his lips against her slim throat, then moved to her cheek. He only meant to show her his love, show her how much he cared, but when he covered her full ruby lips, white-hot flame ignited. He felt the soft warmth. His tongue found its way into her mouth. He stroked her breasts until she moaned, then he lowered his head and encircled a throbbing peak with his lips. He nibbled the hard bud, moved back to her mouth, and kissed her fully again.

Carrying her to her bedroom, he quickly shed his clothes, then undressed her. He sat beside her on the bed, barely able to fit on the narrow mattress, holding her, touching her, still trying to convince himself she was real.

Mandy forgot the carnage in the other room. Forgot the terror of only moments before. He was her world, and he had returned. It was like breathing after holding her breath to the point of suffocation. She couldn't get enough of him.

Suddenly he stopped. “What about the babe?”

She drew him back to her. “The babe is not due for many months yet. I'll not have to give you up for some time.” She kissed him deeply, and he moved to cover her with his hard body. His muscular frame surrounded her. She trembled at
the pressure of his corded thighs against her legs and the heat of his hard chest against her nipples. She could feel his maleness pressing against her. She reveled in anticipation, wanting him more then ever before. She ran her hands down his back and cupped a firm buttock just as he thrust into her. He groaned in pleasure at her touch.

Their mating was wild and passionate—weeks of anguish and despair released in one reckless coupling. Their passion seemed limitless. Though he'd been long without release, Hawk willed himself to endure until the last possible moment, wringing from their mating every ounce of pleasure for them both.

Mandy soared to mounting peaks of pleasure. When the sweet torture was no longer bearable, a warm rush and a thousand tiny pinpricks of ecstasy assaulted her body. She gasped and moaned her husband's name.

Hawk's body glistened with a fine sheen of sweat. A fever of sensation raced through his blood as he followed his wife to release. His pleasure was doubled by his abstinence and the warm glow of his love.

As they lay sated in each other's arms, reason returned, but neither was willing to move or speak. Hawk knew his wife needed reassurance that all of this was real, but the afternoon was passing swiftly. There would be much explaining ahead, and their time alone together, at least until after the wedding, would be limited.

Tracing the line of her cheek with his hand, he felt a second wave of desire surge through his veins. He smiled to himself at the power his tiny wife held over him.

“If I lie next to you much longer, I won't care who finds us here.”

She smiled up at him lovingly. “I haven't the courage to move from your side. The thought of you more than two feet away is more than I can bear.”

He kissed her soundly. “I may never let you leave the bedroom once we're in our own home. But right now I think we'd better have our talk. It's time I found the commander and explained what all this is about.”

“Yes,” she answered resignedly, not really caring about anything but holding her husband in her arms and loving the sound of the word
home
on his lips.

“I believe our late friend told you he shot me?” Hawk said.

“Yes,” she replied weakly, feeling suddenly chilled by the thought.

“Well, the bullet just grazed me. It was the ride through the rapids that nearly killed me. The creek was so rainswollen, I was washed miles downstream.”

He looked at her and smiled boyishly. “It was that little rawhide bag of yours that kept me going. I kept remembering your words. I managed to keep my head above water, though I knew my body was taking a pounding against the rocks. Just when it looked like I would make it, I must have hit my head. That's the last thing I remember until I woke up in a miner's hut two weeks later. Apparently, he dragged me out of the river, but I was pretty badly busted up. I had several broken ribs, some internal injuries, and then came down with pneumonia.”

She clutched his hand, and her heart turned. “Are you all right now?” she asked, suddenly worried.

His mouth curved in the devilish smile she loved so well. “Did I seem all right?”

She felt hot blood rush to her cheeks at the memory of their passion and knew she wanted him again. She ran a hand along his hard chest and willed herself to listen.

“I tried to get him to bring you a message,” he told her, “but he was working an illegal gold claim in the Black Hills, on the Dakota reservation. He wasn't about to leave.” He entwined his fingers in her hair and absently kissed her shoulder.

“I'm just happy to have you safely returned to me,” she whispered. As always between them, he sensed a sudden shift in her mood as she took a deep breath and glanced away.

“Is it Dark Moon you're thinking of?” he asked gently, wanting to clear the air.

“Yes.”

“When I returned to the village they told me she'd been coming to see you. It's not difficult for me to imagine what she must have said. It's the reason I never took you to meet her.”

“She said your death was my fault, that if you'd married her instead of me it wouldn't have happened.... Did you intend to marry her before I came along?”

Hawk ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Before I left the village as a young man, I fancied myself in love with her. I considered marriage, but only when—and if—I returned.”

A small cloud darkened Sam's eyes before he went on. “When I did come back, I was older, wiser. I could see the hatred and bitterness she felt for the whites. I realized I never loved her, but she had convinced herself she loved me. I knew by then my future lay not with the Indians, but
with the whites. I didn't see her again until I returned to my village this last time.”

“And how did you feel when you saw her again?” his wife persisted.

“Just as I had before. She is beautiful, but cold and hollow. By then she'd been married to Red Bear, but he divorced her. Her bitterness has ruined her life. Before I brought you into camp, she came to me, asked me to consider marriage. She offered herself to me—I refused. I knew by then there was only one woman for me. You had already captured my heart.”

Mandy smiled with satisfaction. She curled her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his thick sandy hair. She pulled his head down and kissed him tenderly. Whatever problems they had now, they would face together. After what they had suffered apart, nothing would be insurmountable. As long as they were together, their love gave them strength and courage beyond anything they would need.

She placed her husband's hand on her stomach. Their child grew within—proof of their love. The look of pride on his face was all Mandy needed to confirm the happiness they would share. Tears of gladness welled in her eyes as he covered her lips in a deep, loving kiss.

Copyright © 1988, 2011 by Kat Martin Published by Vanguard Press A Member of the Perseus Books Group

 

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Set in 10.5 point Goudy Old Style by the Perseus Books Group

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Martin, Kat.

Magnificent passage / Kat Martin. p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-593-15698-5

I. Title.

 

PS3563.A7246M34 2011

813'.54—dc22

2011012325

 

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