Sweet Savage Heart (51 page)

“That gold nearly got you killed once, Travis, so don’t go tempting those Hunkpapas by trying it again. Let it go, son,” he pleaded. “I’d rather lose this ranch than lose you, boy, and that’s God’s truth.”

“I can’t, Nate. That part of my life is still an open wound. It’s time I healed it once and for all, and this is
the perfect time and way. I deserve that gold, Nate, and I’ve already paid for it. I’ll leave in the morning, and I’ll be back before this month’s gone.”

“I will go with you,” Rana told him.

He declared gently, “No, Rana, you won’t. I can travel faster and more safely alone. There isn’t much time, and I need you to stay here to help Nate take care of things. Just tell everybody I went looking for the bandits’ trail. Once this loan’s repaid and the ranch is safe, we’ll find a way to defeat Caldwell. You keep studying your books and white ways and practicing your shooting while I’m gone; then we’ll take on this enemy together when I return. I need your understanding, trust, and help until this matter is settled. Nothing will happen to me, love; I promise. I’ll go see Lone Wolf and get him to help me.”

“Maybe Harry will settle down now that he’s got our money. Ain’t no need for him to do more than wait us out,” Nathan speculated.

“I hope you’re right, Nate, but I doubt it. It might be wise to keep guards posted. You know what kind of men he’s hired, so both of you be careful. Before I leave, I’ll write Clarissa a sweet little note to keep her panting after me; maybe she can keep her father in line while I’m gone. It’s worth a try. Cody can deliver it for me after I’m gone. Speaking of Cody, why don’t you help him and Mary Beth get married soon to get her out of Caldwell’s reach? There isn’t anything her father or Caldwell could do after the fact. You might want to tell Rachel to come back to work Friday, so Rana will have some company and help. Rachel can keep her too busy to worry about me.”

“No, she cannot, Travis Kincade. And if you do not return in one full moon, I will come searching for you,” she threatened mildly. She was so afraid for him to return to the Dakota lands, but she knew he had to go, and alone. By being stubborn or defiant, she could endanger both of their lives and his victory, so she would stay behind and
do her part here at the ranch. “Perhaps you only seek to run away and not marry me again,” she teased to lighten his burden.

A playful smile teased over his lips and his green eyes sparkled with mischief. In a warm tone, he warned roguishly, “No chance, my love, so make sure you don’t use that false excuse to flirt with my hired hands while I’m gone. You had better be waiting for me when I return, because I’ve staked my claim on you. Nate, you keep a sharp eye on this restless filly for me. I wouldn’t want to turn her over my knee for a good spanking the minute I get home. And another thing, Rana Michaels. Don’t you dare do anything foolish or reckless. These men are dangerous and evil. Now that I’ve snared you and tamed you, I don’t want to lose you or have you running wild again. I promise that you can be a female warrior at my side when I come home. Agreed?”

“Have I not proven I am smart and obedient?” she responded, slyly avoiding a direct answer and smiling at him innocently. She did not want to lie to him, and if anything happened while he was away…

Travis went into Nathan’s office to write the note to Clarissa. When it was finished, he read it aloud to Rana and Nathan:

There’s been some trouble over here, so I’ll be gone three or four weeks. Mace was robbed of our cattle money on the way back from Sedalia. I’m heading up the trail to see if I can pick up any clues as to who took it and which way they rode off. I been doing some serious thinking about you and I don’t want you fretting over me leaving again this soon. Don’t tell your father how badly we need that money, ‘cause I don’t want him hanging over Nate’s head like a vulture while I’m gone. If I can’t pick up those bandits’ trail, I’ll be heading on up to St.
Louis to see if I can locate some banker willing to settle our loan with Mason’s bank. Since Nate and me stand to lose everything if I don’t recover that money or I don’t get a new loan, I can’t ask you to wait around for me. A man’s got his pride or he ain’t got nothing, and no real man would take a woman for what she has. If I lose this ranch, I’ll be moving on alone. So if you hear anything that can help me and Nate find these varmints who are trying to ruin us, I’m begging you, love, tell Nate while I’m gone and he can put the sheriff on them. Fact is, it’s gonna be nice to get away from that little brat living with us! She’s about to run me ragged around a tree. You ain’t nothing like Rana Michaels.

He halted to laugh and remark, “Lordy, how true that is. If you were like Clarissa, love, Nate and I would have left you with Lone Wolf.” He grinned, then continued with his note:

Don’t go taking any foolish risks by trying to learn who’s behind this trouble just to help me. You stay home where it’s safe. I’ll send you word as soon as I can. One last thing. Don’t tell anybody where I’m going or what I’m doing. See you around the end of the month. Travis.

He looked at Nathan and Rana and asked, “Well, how about it?”

Nathan shrugged, but Rana responded, “If you wish to snare her heart, Travis, you must write words to give her real hope of winning you. Where you say you have been thinking seriously about her, say you will miss her or you will think of her each day you are gone. Where you say you cannot ask her to wait for you if you have no land and home to share with her, you must say you cannot ask but
you hope she will wait for you and accept you even if you lose all you own. Where you say you will be moving on alone, you must add, ‘Until I can find another home and work and then I will come for you.’ When you speak of when you will see her again, say, ‘You’d better be waiting for me when I return, because I’ve staked my claim on you’. I love those words, and she will love them. If she is helping her father with his evil deeds as you believe, she might try to stop him or control him if she knows she might win or lose you over what happens while you are gone.”

Travis frowned in aversion. “If I say those things,
micante,
she’ll be all over me when I return home. You sure you want me to say them to another woman, even if we both know they’re lies?”

She smiled lovingly. “It does not matter, for I know you do this only to save us and our home from wicked foes. She is like an evil spirit that must be fooled, then defeated. When you return and pay the bank this money, you can free yourself of all evils. When she learns you have fooled her, she will become angry and perhaps reveal her evil. Say what is needed to defend our lives and home.”

Travis sighed loudly. “I’ve been rejecting her so long, I’m not sure she’ll believe this romantic letter.”

Rana recalled what she had witnessed near the corral that night. “She is greedy for you; she will believe what she wishes to believe. She will think you have weakened, as she has expected.”

Nathan chuckled and concurred.

“I surely hope you two are right, and that you’ll beat her off me when I return home. I can always claim I didn’t write this mushy message.” Travis returned to Nathan’s desk and wrote another letter, including Rana’s bold suggestions. When he finished it, he read it to them:

I ain’t one for writing letters or putting my feelings on paper where the wrong person can see them and read them. But I got some things need saying to you before I leave. There’s been some trouble over here, so I’ll be gone three or four weeks. Mace was robbed of our cattle money on the way back from Sedalia. I’m heading up the trail to see if I can pick up any clues as to who took it and which way they rode off. I been doing some serious thinking about you and I don’t want you fretting over me leaving again this soon ‘cause I’ll think about you every day and I hope you do the same with me. Don’t tell your father how badly we need that money I’m going after, ‘cause I don’t want him hanging over Nate’s head like a vulture while I’m gone. If I can’t pick up those bandits’ trail, I’ll be heading on up to St. Louis to see if I can locate some banker willing to settle our loan with Mason’s bank. Since Nate and me stand to lose everything if I don’t recover that money or I don’t get a new loan, I can’t ask you to wait around for me, but I sure do hope you will and I hope you’ll still want me even if I lose this ranch. A man’s got his pride or he ain’t got nothing, and no real man would take a woman for what she has. If I lose this ranch, I’ll be moving on alone, until I can find another job and place to live. If you’re willing to marry a man with nothing and you’ll wait for me while I get settled elsewhere, I’ll come back for you. But I’d rather stay on the ranch if I can find a way to keep her. So if you hear anything that can help me and Nate find these varmints who are trying to ruin us, I’m begging you, love, tell Nate while I’m gone and he can put the sheriff on them. Fact is, it’s gonna be nice to get away from that little brat living with us! She’s about to run me ragged around a tree. You ain’t nothing
like Rana Michaels and you won’t ever be. Don’t go taking any foolish risks by trying to learn who’s behind this trouble just to help me. You stay home where it’s safe until I can get back. I’ll send you word as soon as I can to let you know where I am and how things are going. One last thing. Don’t tell anybody where I’m going or what I’m doing. See you around the end of the month, and you had better be waiting for me when I return, woman, ‘cause I’ve staked my claim on you and told you things from my heart. Travis.”

It was close to midnight when Travis sneaked into Rana’s room, where she was waiting eagerly to spend this last night with him. Each longed to embrace and kiss the other urgently, for they knew that death might confront either of them shortly. They would love as if that black spirit was truly about to claim them and there would be no more happy days or blissful nights for them to share.

“I love you, Rana Michaels, and I want to marry you and let everyone know you’re the woman of my heart and life.”

She responded ardently, “I love you, Travis Kincade, and the Great Spirit will hear our prayers and answer them. You will return to me soon, and we will claim each other under white law. You must think of nothing and no one while you ride this dangerous trail to the Hunkpapa lands. You must think only of your safety and victory.”

“Come, my beautiful wife, and soar on the wild wind with me; then later we will talk.” Travis’s lips and hands claimed her full attention then as they began their rapturous journey on the wings of love.

Travis lay beside her, holding her, caressing her. The door was locked and one candle glowed softly in the quiet room. For a time, he made love to her with his eyes,
storing up exquisite images to carry him through the rough days ahead. Slowly he came forward until his chest grazed hers and his lips brushed over her mouth. His fingers seemingly danced over her face and through her silky hair. He rained kisses over her throat and gently devoured her breasts, bringing the brown peaks to instant life.

She groaned softly as he ignited and fanned her smoldering desires into a raging fire of blazing passion. She savored the way his experienced, talented hands roamed her body, his one hand drifting over her stomach and causing it to tighten with anticipation of the path it would forge toward her womanhood. She was stirred and tempted and could not keep from drawing his mouth back to hers and ravenously meshing her lips to his. Her hands roved his body then, stroking its tanned flesh, admiring its beauty. She closed her eyes and absorbed the stimulation of her unbridled senses. She relished the tautness of his chest as her fingers lovingly mapped his torso. One hand rose to travel through his sable hair. The other played over his body and boldly captured his rigid manhood. Lovingly she caressed its warm, smooth surface. His loins instantly responded to her touch and he writhed in pleasure. She felt him tense and relax at her tantalizing touch and she smiled happily.

Travis’s lips returned to the brown nubs on her breasts and blissfully tormented them, increasing her hunger for him and what lay ahead for them this night. He saw the dreamy smile on her lips and silently vowed that this night would be unforgettable. His hands tenderly kneaded her breasts and he deftly squeezed their hard tips as his mouth drifted between them and her lips, bathing her in intense sensation. He grasped her buttocks and fondled them before pressing her core snugly against his enlarged staff, which pleaded for encompassing contact. Again his hands returned to her eager mounds to
sweetly torment the thrusting peaks. Slowly and deliberately his fingers began to trail up and down her sides until one continued down her flesh into her fiery triangle and carefully, sensuously stroked the straining peak there. He could feel the tension and anticipation throbbing within her body, especially at that sensitive spot. As his mouth lavished attention on her taut nipples, a deft finger entered her entreating womanhood and moved expertly until her head was thrashing upon the bed, signaling her uncontrollable desire.

Rana’s hands roamed Travis’s hard, smooth frame. They teased over sinewy muscles that rippled with his movements. They wandered down his back to examine his firm buttocks that could forcefully drive his manhood into her body with such skill and delight. He was making her wild and stealing her wits. Again her fingers moved provocatively over his groin, playing in the crisp hair that surrounded his rearing stallion, so full of heat and need. She felt him trailing kisses down her stomach, and he shifted his body to continue along her thighs, taking him out of her reach. His fingers teased over her hips, ending their stimulating journey in her auburn forest, and he smiled triumphantly when she shifted her legs apart to welcome his invasion.

Travis’s hand stimulated the tiny mound before he pressed kisses to it, causing her to stiffen in surprise and intense delight. He grinned as she glanced down at him, her expression questioning his action. He smiled, encouraging and relaxing her completely. His strong hands drifted up and down the insides of her silky thighs, each time barely making titillating contact with the sensitive area. He pushed aside her soft hair and his finger lovingly massaged the delicate peak. Another finger slipped within her secret haven to create a pattern that matched that of his manhood when he was thrusting deeply within her. Her moist, snug paradise told him she
was eager to accept and enjoy any pleasure he wished to give her. Gently he tantalized the tiny bud, which had grown hard and hot beneath his touch. Slowly and purposefully his head bent forward and his tongue replaced the finger on the peak. He teased it with his teeth, providing a thrill she had never experienced before. His tongue flicked and circled, sometimes swiftly and sometimes leisurely. At times he would grasp it hungrily and suck upon it as he had her nipples, the action causing her to thrash wildly. Together his mouth and fingers worked to bring her to the point of torturously sweet abandon and unspeakable rapture.