Apache Flame (28 page)

There were berry bushes on the far side of the spring.
Alisha picked a handful, eating them as she walked along. It was remarkable
that this tiny spot of greenery could exist in the middle of this huge pile of
rocks in the midst of the desert.

Walking on, she found an arrowhead made of obsidian.
Bending, she picked it up. It was smooth and warm in her hand.

She walked on, with Sophie following her. It was peaceful
here, she thought, a tiny oasis of solitude. She wondered how many men and
women had sought refuge in this place in years gone by, wondered what it would
be like to make love to Mitch here, in this place, under the stars. There was
no chance of that, she thought, not as long as Red Clements was with them.

She smiled as she thought of Clements. For all his rough
speech and ways, she had grown very fond of him. She wondered what his wife in
the east was like. Try as she might, she couldn’t imagine Clements walking down
a city street, or wearing city clothes. Far easier to picture him in buckskins,
hunkered down around a campfire.

Two wives. Alisha shook her head. It was beyond
comprehension.

With a sigh, she turned back toward the buffalo robe, her
heart skipping a beat as she saw Mitch striding toward her.

Smiling, she ran into his arms.

“Hey.” He wrapped his left arm around her and hugged her
tight.

“Hey yourself,” she retorted. “Where have you been?”

He kissed her soundly. “Hunting.”

“Hunting?”

Mitch nodded. “We managed to trap a couple of rabbits. And
Clements found some skunk cabbage.”

“How are we going to cook the rabbits?”

Mitch grinned at her. “Thought we’d eat ‘em raw.”

“Mitchy!”

He laughed at her. “Don’t worry. Clements has a flint.”

“Well, thank goodness.”

“Hey, if you’re hungry enough, you’ll eat just about
anything.”

“I guess so.”

“I know so.”

“Even rabbit?” she said, remembering how he hated them, how
he’d once told her he hoped he’d never have to eat one again.

“Even rabbit.”

“I found some berries over there,” she said, gesturing over
her shoulder.

“I know,” Mitch said with a roguish grin. “I tasted ‘em when
I kissed you.” He drew her into his arms, one hand sliding down over her
buttocks to draw her up against him. “Give me another taste.”

“Mitch!”

“What?”

“We’re not alone.”

Mitch glanced over his shoulder. “Pay no attention to Red.
He’s busy skinning our dinner.”

He drew her up against him once more, showering her with
kisses, driving every other thought from her mind. Like a flower unfolding to
the heat of the sun, she opened for him, wanting more, more.

Alisha moaned softly, her need blossoming, surging within
her. Her body responded instantly to the touch of his hands and lips. Her
breasts felt full, heavy. Warmth rose up within her, spreading outward.

She ran her hands up and down his back, over his bare chest,
loving the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips—the hardness of him, the
heat of him.

“Mitchy…”

“What do you want, darlin’?” he murmured.

“You. Just you.”

“Now?”

She blinked up at him, breathless and aching. “Isn’t there
somewhere we can be alone?”

Mitch glanced around, searching for someplace where they
could be alone, and finding none.

“Guess we’ll have to wait awhile,” he murmured.

Alisha nodded, though waiting was the last thing she wanted.

“Tarnation,” growled a voice. “You two ever gonna come up
for air?”

Startled, Alicia peered around Mitch to see Red Clements
smirking at them.

“Go away, Red,” Mitch growled.

“I reckon I could go out and have a look around,” Clements
offered, “even though we just come from outside and there weren’t nothin’
there.”

“Thanks, Red.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Clements muttered irritably, but there was a
glint in his eyes when he said it. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“Be careful out there,” Mitch warned.

Clements grunted. “You two be careful in here.”

Feelings her cheeks grow hot, Alisha buried her face against
Mitch’s chest, certain she would never be able to look Clements in the face
again.

Mitch put his finger beneath Alisha’s chin and tilted her
face up. “Change your mind?”

Alisha shook her head. “No.” She touched the bandages on his
arm and head. “But maybe we should wait. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m already hurting,” he said, nuzzling her ear. “But I
know how you can make it better.”

“Hmm, I’ll just bet you do.”

“I’d pick you up and carry you to my lair like a proper
savage,” Mitch growled, “but I’m afraid this time you’ll have to walk.”

“That’s all right,” she said, laughing. “You’d better save
your strength.”

“Gonna wear me out, are you?”

“Maybe,” she replied with a saucy grin.

Taking her by the hand, Mitch led Alisha to the buffalo robe
and drew her down beside him. Wrapping his good arm around her, he kissed her.

She melted against him, her body molding to his, hardly
aware that he was removing her tunic, removing his clout, until she felt his
skin against hers. It was a feast for the senses, with the buffalo robe soft
and warm beneath her and Mitch’s hard muscled body at her side. A soft breeze
ruffled her hair, she felt the sun on her face, felt a wild stirring deep in
her loins. For the first time in her life, she felt free, uninhibited by
convention, by what was right or wrong. She wasn’t the preacher’s daughter
here, didn’t have to worry about town gossip, or what the school board would
think. She could say and do whatever she wished without fear of approbation.

It was a heady feeling, to be free, to be in Mitch’s arms,
to know he loved her. Ah, what heaven to be able to taste him and touch him to
her heart’s delight, to hear him whisper her name, his voice filled with love
and desire.

To whisper his name in return. “Mitchy…Mitchy…” Nothing but
his name, the very sound of it, the very word itself making her heart swell
with love.

“I’m here, darlin’.”

“Kiss me.”

He smiled down at her. “Here?” he asked, kissing her
forehead.

“Lower.”

“Here?” He kissed her nose this time.

“Lower.”

“Here?” He dropped a kiss on her left cheek, and then her
right. “Or here?” His lips slid to her mouth, lingering there as his tongue
slid inside for a quick taste. She tasted of berries warmed by the sun.

Alisha made a soft purring sound of pleasure as his tongue
slid over hers. She moved restlessly beneath him, wanting to be closer, to feel
him surround her, envelop her. Only when he was a part of her did she feel
complete. She welcomed his weight on top of her, loved the feel of his skin,
hot and moist against her own.

She lifted her hips to receive him, sighing with pleasure as
their bodies merged, two souls now one, moving with a rhythm as old as time
itself…

Chapter Thirty-Three

Warmed by the sun, drifting in the hazy afterglow of
lovemaking, Alisha rested her head on Mitch’s shoulder and watched the fluffy
white clouds drifting across the sky.

“Look,” she said, “that one looks like a buffalo.”

Mitch made a soft sound of assent. Finding shapes in the
clouds had been something they had done often as children.

“And that one,” she said, pointing. “It looks like a mother
holding a baby.”

“And that one,” Mitch said, kissing the top of her head,
“looks like us.”

“Us?” She stared in the direction he pointed and saw two
clouds that did, indeed, look like a man and woman lying side by side.

She sighed and snuggled closer, her fingers making lazy
circles on his chest. What a wanton she had become, she mused. Even in her
wildest dreams, she had never imagined she would be lying naked on a buffalo
robe, with Mitch beside her. It was a wondrous feeling, the sun warm on her
skin, the furry robe beneath her, the breeze ruffling her hair. And Mitch’s arm
around her, making her feel warm, secure. Loved.

“We’d better be getting dressed,” Mitch remarked, a note of
regret in his voice. “Red’ll be back soon.”

“Oh!” Alicia bolted upright and reached for her tunic,
horrified by the thought of Red coming back and finding the her and Mitch
laying naked on the buffalo robe. It was bad enough that Red knew why they had
wanted to be alone.

“Hey!” Mitch grabbed her arm and pulled her back down beside
him. “Not so fast.”

“But you said…”

“Never mind what I said.” Mitch rolled on top of her,
resting his weight on one elbow. “I don’t want to let you go.”

“But Red…he’ll be…soon… Oh, Mitchy…” With a sigh, she slid
her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It wasn’t fair, she thought, that
he had such power over her. One kiss and she melted like dew beneath the sun.

He deepened the kiss, adding kindling to the flame already
burning inside her. That quickly, she wanted him again.

“Mitchy…”

“I’m here, darlin’.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed her again, intent on showing
her just how much, and then Sophie whinnied. Muttering an oath, Mitch rolled to
his feet and draped a corner of the buffalo robe over Alisha. “Red’s back.”

“Oh!” Grabbing her tunic, Alisha ducked under the buffalo
robe and shimmied into her dress.

By the time Red reached them, she was dressed.

Red took one look at Alisha’s tangled hair and flushed face
and grinned. “Guess I should have made it two hours.” He dropped a couple of
birds near the fire pit, then grinned at Mitch. “You told me you didn’t like
rabbit.”

“Thanks,” Mitch said dryly. “See anything out there?”

“Nah. It’s all clear.”

Mitch nodded. “We’ll leave for the talking trees tonight
then.”

“Suits me.”

“Talking trees? What’s that?” Alisha asked.

“It’s a rendezvous point. Elk Chaser said to meet him
there.”

“How far is it?”

“About two hours from here. Elk Chaser took me there shortly
after I arrived.”

Alisha nodded. If their son was still alive, he would be
there.

* * * * *

They left the canyon at nightfall. Alisha rode between Mitch
and Red, wondering if Rides the Buffalo and White Robe had made it to the
talking trees place safely, wondering what the future held for all of them. It
was hard to believe her life had once been dull, she mused as they crossed a
shallow ravine. In the last few weeks she had been captured by Indians, hidden
in a cave tending a wounded man, met her son, married her childhood sweetheart
in an Apache ceremony, been in the midst of a battle. Surely that was enough
excitement for anyone. All she wanted now was to settle down with her husband
and son. She wondered if Mitch would want to stay in Canyon Creek. She knew he
had always hated it there, but it was a nice town. She had never lived anywhere
else, but if Mitch wanted to sell his father’s ranch and leave town, she would
go wherever he asked. It didn’t matter where they lived, so long as the three
of them were together.

She placed her hand over her belly, wondering if she might
be carrying a baby even now. She remembered being in the family way before, the
wonder of it, the awe that had come with the realization that she carried a new
life within her. She remembered how her arms had ached to hold her baby, how
her breasts had ached as they filled with milk. It would be different this
time, she thought. Mitch would be there beside her. She imagined how it would
be, watching their child grow, watching it do all the things she had missed
before.

A coyote howled in the distance, putting an end to her
reverie.

A short time later, a warrior materialized out of the
darkness. He spoke to Mitch, and then disappeared back into the shadows.

They rode on for another few yards, and then Alisha saw a
few hastily constructed wickiups silhouetted in the faint glow of a campfire.
The “talking trees” were cottonwoods. She could hear them whispering to each
other as the wind stirred the leaves.

Mitch reined his horse to a stop. Dismounting, he came to
help Alisha down.

She glanced around the village, looking for some sign of
Rides the Buffalo, realizing as she did so that if he was here, he would
probably be asleep.

She followed Mitch toward the campfire where a dozen or so
warriors were sitting, talking quietly.

“
Yah a teh
,” he said.

“
Yah a teh,”
replied Fights the Wind.

“Is my mother here?”

Fights the Wind gestured toward the nearest wickiup. “She
was wounded in the battle. My woman is looking after her.”

“Is she badly hurt?” Mitch asked anxiously.

“She will recover.”

Mitch nodded. “Is Rides the Buffalo with her?”

“No.”

“Mitch!” Alisha’s hand clutched his arm and he drew her up
against him, afraid to ask the next question.

He swallowed hard, steeling himself for the worst. “Is the
boy dead?”

“I do not know. Red Eagle found your mother unconscious and
brought her here. When she awoke, she had no memory of what had happened.”
Fights the Wind looked at Alisha, his gaze sympathetic. “There is room for you
in my wickiup,” he said. He looked at Red Clements. “You are also welcome.”

“Obliged,” Red replied.

“What of Elk Chaser?” Mitch asked.

“We have not seen him.” Fights the Wind held a stick in his
hand. He broke it in half and tossed the pieces into the fire. “We have sent
runners to our brothers in the north and the south,” he said. “Soon, our young
men will have new songs to sing.” He looked up at Mitch, his face hard. “Our
people will be avenged.”

Mitch nodded. Taking Alisha by the hand, Mitch headed for
Fights the Wind’s lodge. Clements trailed behind.

The glowing embers of a fire offered the only light inside
the lodge. Glancing around, Mitch counted three women, two men, and four
children wrapped up in blankets.