The Devil's Cowboy (15 page)

“What have you done?” he bellowed.

She stared at him in shock. “We saved her, Rafe,” Ellen replied, keeping her voice gentle. “She’s free now.”

“She’s free,” the harsh voice repeated. Rafe took a step toward her. “Yes, she is.” He came closer. “Now you’ll have to take her place.”

His tone was menacing and a shiver went down her spine. “He’s gotten to you, Rafe,” Ellen suddenly realized. “I’m sorry, my love. I left you alone. Our consciousness was separated while I was trying to help her. The dark one took advantage of that moment of weakness, getting into your mind like he did into mine. You have to drive him out.”

“Weakness? Yes, that’s exactly what it is.” His voice took on a mocking falsetto. “‘Oh, step into the light. Love will save you.’ Well, I’ve got news for you,
darlin’,
” he went on, spitting out the words. “Love is nothing but an illusion. It’s a falsehood, a web that crafty men spin and gullible women get caught in. It’s our masterpiece, really. We’re secretly very proud that we can deceive you so well. But as I said, it’s your biggest weakness… and we exploit it. You’d prefer to believe the myth that we really
care
about you than to live in cold, hard reality.”

She was taken aback by the vicious, spiteful tirade coming out of the mouth of the man who only hours before had held her tenderly in his arms. Reminding herself that she wasn’t listening to the real Rafe, she struggled to keep her voice calm. “That’s not true, Rafe. I know you’re in there and I know you love me. Now you’re the one who has to fight. Remember who you are—who
he
is. Send him away, Rafe.”

She reached out to take his hand. Rafe grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to her knees in front of him.

“Here’s where you belong, you slut. Now you know
my
little secret. I’ll say whatever I have to say to get you to suck my cock. I’ve been doing it ever since I first laid eyes on you. I do it with all my women.” He fisted his hands in her hair, pulling her head in closer to the erection straining against his jeans. “Suck it, bitch. You want someone to love you? All these years, when you were all alone in your bed late at night, isn’t that what you’ve been longing for, dreaming of? You’ve wanted to act like a slut and call it love. Well, here I am. So love me—now. Do a good job and maybe I’ll let one of my buddies fuck you later… as a token of
my
love.”

Ellen shuddered in revulsion. Her first instinct was to resist, to pull away, to fight this cruel stranger. But then she remembered the mixture of very real physical sensations mixed with whispered prayers and soft endearments he used to draw her away from the evil being that influenced her mind last night.

I can’t very well spank him like he did to me,
she realized.
But I can try to make sure that his mind and body are here together.

Ellen unzipped his pants while speaking out loud. “I call upon our angels to be with us now, as I freely and willingly offer Rafe this expression of my love.”

She guided his hard cock out into the open. Sliding her hand up and down the shaft, she looked up at him. His eyes glowed red and his handsome face was distorted into a fierce grimace.

“Shut up, bitch,” he growled. “Stick it in your mouth and quit talking.”

Ellen cringed. Then she reminded herself that her lover was still inside there, trapped, and forced herself to smile up at him. “I love you, Rafe,” she whispered. “And you love me. We’ve been together all through eternity. He’s just jealous, my darling. He’s never experienced what we have, never had anyone love him the way I’ve always loved you.” All the while, she was stroking his rigid shaft.

“Remember now, my love. Remember how it’s always been. Remember
us,
together in so many lifetimes.” She sent out a desperate prayer, seeking the words that would get through to him and went on, hardly knowing what she was saying.

“Think about that night in Rome when you were a mighty gladiator. You were pitted against your best friend Adelphus in the Coliseum, with me as the prize. I was but a slave, a plaything to be awarded to the victor by the emperor. But you loved me. You were forced by that monster to fight the man who was closer to you than a brother. He tried to use your love for me, the love we shared, to turn you into someone hard and cruel, to prove you were just like him underneath. To have me, you’d have to kill the man you grew up with, the man who saved your life in battle many a time.”

She stopped stroking and stared into his eyes. “Remember, my love? Remember how you begged me to trust you that night? How you promised me, swore to me, that we’d be together again someday? And then you walked out into the Coliseum—and let Adelphus win. You knew that he too cared about me and would never do me harm. You couldn’t bear to kill the man who was like a brother to you… and you believed deep in your soul that God in his mercy would grant us other lifetimes together. You loved me—and you loved Adelphus too. So you stayed true to your soul and gave up your life rather than hurt a friend. You refused to be conquered by evil.

“That’s the man I love… the man who would lay down his life to save a brother. That’s the man I have followed and trusted and believed in since the beginning of time. Although I dearly longed for death, I couldn’t take my own life that night. It would have been too great a sin. Adelphus was a good man and he did care deeply for me. I honored your sacrifice and repaid his devotion to me. A year later, I gave him a strong baby boy to carry on his line as I breathed my last breath. That night, I happily left this world to be with you again.

“I believe in love, Rafe. It’s not a weakness or a myth. It’s the greatest power there is in the universe, the one power
he
can’t defeat. We’re together again now, Rafe. What I do in this moment, I do with love in my heart.”

She took him in her mouth then, feeling his body shudder as she swept her tongue around the head of his cock. Ellen put every ounce of her being into pleasing him, as she called upon power she didn’t know she possessed to project vivid images of the two of them together into his mind. She sucked him deeper into her mouth, all the while willing him to remember how he’d kissed her tenderly only a few hours ago, then made love to her with breathless passion. She showed him scenes from their short time together here in Dallas and on the ranch, sent his mind sweet, precious memories from lifetimes she wasn’t aware of before this moment.

Fingers loosened on the fists gripping her hair. His hands began stroking her head, gently.

Ellen looked up at him. “Yes, my love. This is about you and me. No one else.” She remembered the words he’d spoken last night when she was deep in the throes of the dark one’s evil influence. On her knees before him, her voice rang out, strong and true.

“I call upon all our angels to come to my aid. I banish all other spirits. Rafe alone dwells in this body. No creature of darkness, no other soul has dominion over him.”

She felt him shudder, sensed his struggle. Jumping up, she grabbed his treasured statue from the table, holding it in front of his face with both hands. “By the power of the light, I command all other spirits to be gone.”

Rafe bent his head, swaying on his feet, and Ellen thought he was about to collapse. Then his eyes snapped open, clear and dark. He stood tall, taking the statue from Ellen.

“Together we command you to leave this place, creature of darkness. Take with you the twisted soul trapped here, the being that you filled with hate and anger, evil thoughts and deeds. Let white light purify this place, filling every corner with peace. There is no place for you here. By the power of love, we cast you back into the abyss.”

The ominous dark mass that had filled Adam’s room suddenly appeared, swirling around them. Just as suddenly, it evaporated, disappearing before their eyes.

Ellen heard a sharp hiss. Rafe’s eyes centered on a point somewhere behind her. “‘Bout time you showed yourself. I won’t say it’s good to see you again,” he said. She was relieved to hear his voice back to normal.

Rafe went on, his tone deceptively casual. “By the way, in case you didn’t hear me, you’re through here. There’s no more mischief you can get into. Both of the souls you trapped are gone now. They’re free.” He waved his arms around the room, the statue of Raphael still held tight in one hand. “Can you feel it? This place is filled with light and love now. You’re drowning in it.”

She heard the voice, low and seductive. “You’re getting all preachy on me, pal, just like last time. Come on. Don’t you ever want to have a little
fun,
Rafe?”

“I wouldn’t call what you do fun,” he replied.

“That’s because you’ve never let yourself go, never broken through the iron bars of that conscience keeping you prisoner.” She heard a friendly chuckle. “C’mon. Give it a shot. I promise you’ll be crazy about everything we do together.” The chuckle morphed into a deep, wicked laugh, echoing in the room. “I can snap my fingers and give you fame, fortune, wild women who’ll throw themselves at your feet.”

“No, thanks.” Rafe smiled. “I already have one of those. She proved it tonight.” He reached out and brought Ellen into his arms. “Besides, you can’t give me what she does, the one thing I need to make my life complete. You can’t give me love.”

Ellen saw it out of the corner of her eye, a dark creature collapsing and growing smaller, like a cosmic black hole devouring itself. With it went the chill, the ominous heaviness that had hung over the house, sweeping through her like an icy wind. One final maniacal peal of laughter rang out, then the room fell silent. She realized she’d been holding her breath and filled her lungs. The air tasted different now, clearer somehow.

“They’re gone,” she marveled. “All of them. I can feel it—the change. It feels like any other house now.”

“You were wonderful,” Rafe whispered, burying his face in her hair as he held her close. “Now I understand what you were going through last night. I’ve faced him down before but he’s never been this strong. He took over before I even realized what was happening.

“I’m so sorry, babe,” he went on. “Sorry I put you through that. Sorry for the things I said, the way I treated you.”

“It wasn’t you, Rafe. I knew that. The man I love would never hurt me that way, say such cruel things to me.” She grinned up at him and winked. “Besides, if loving you has turned me into a slut, I’m happy to be
your
slut—and yours alone.”

* * *

Hours later, back at the ranch, they sat alone together at the old wooden table. The house was quiet, with a stillness that promised peaceful slumber. Ellen bit into a hearty meatloaf sandwich, sighing in contentment.

Rafe looked at her oddly, his plate untouched. “All those images. All those lives. Where did you get them?”

“What do you mean?”

“You sent all sorts of pictures into my head… back when you were giving me the best blowjob I’ve ever had, by the way.” He found himself growing hard again at the memory, and forcibly put it out of his head for the moment. “I recognized most of those lives. But there were some I’ve never seen before.”

Ellen put down her sandwich. “I really don’t know,” she replied. “I set my mind free, asked the spirit for help, and simply projected whatever I was shown.” He was silent and she stared at him for a moment, trying to read his thoughts the way he read hers.

“I give up,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I just don’t have the ability to get into your head the way you do to me. I know it’s tough for guys to do, but you’re just going to have to talk to me, tell me what’s going on in there.”

She took another bite of her sandwich, then ruefully pushed the plate aside. “I’ve got to get back to Asheville while I can still zip up my jeans. All I ever seem to do out here is eat… when we’re not having mind-blowing sex, that is.”

“I love to see you enjoyin’ a good meal, darlin’, the same way you enjoy all the other pleasures we share.” His eyes narrowed and he flashed that killer smile. “I love touching you, holding you, hearing you cry out my name when I ram myself into your hot pussy. I love every one of your beautiful curves. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, you could stand to gain about ten pounds. Then you’d be nigh onto perfect.”

Ellen laughed. “Good-looking, hard-working, hot, and sexy—and you want me to gain ten pounds? Rafe Cummings, I’ve spent my whole life looking for a man like you. Will you marry me?”

His smile disappeared and he met her eyes squarely. “Yes.”

Flustered, Ellen tried to backtrack. “I just… I was kidding, Rafe. I wouldn’t expect you to… I mean, we hardly know each other.”

He reached for her hand and she felt that wild jolt of power flow through her, the same jolt she’d felt the first time they touched.

“That’s not true and you know it,” he said, stroking her upturned palm with his fingers. “We know everything there is to know about each other—everything truly important. I know you have a kind heart and an incredible mind. There’s a gentleness about you… but at the same time, you’re stronger and braver than anyone I’ve ever met. You faced down the devil himself to save me. You conquered evil with the power of your love. We’ve already been together, to hell and back over countless lifetimes. We’ve loved each other and lost each other, only to be reunited again. But this time will be different. This time, we’re being given the chance to have that happily ever after. You saw it… and you showed it to me. You said once that you couldn’t see your own future. Well, tonight, when you were fighting for my soul, you gave me a glimpse of what my future holds. There we were, ridin’ together on the range, side by side. We both had a few wrinkles, a few gray hairs—but you looked as beautiful to me then as you do now.” He bent his head to kiss her palm and looked up at her, his eyes dancing. “More beautiful, with that extra ten pounds you gained just to please me.”

“Rafe Cummings—all you have to do is touch me and I melt inside. And just as important if we’re destined to spend a whole lifetime together, you make me laugh.” She slipped from her chair to get down on one knee in front of him.