Creole Fires (17 page)

“Be careful,” he warned. “Weather appears to be changin’. Could be a storm brewin’. You never know when a bad un’ll blow in off the gulf.”

“I won’t be gone long.” She’d be gone just as long as she liked! To hell with all of them. Alex owned her contract, but not her soul. She was no longer treated as a servant, but as a pampered guest. Until Alex put a stop to it, she would do as she pleased whenever she got the chance.

Leading Napoleon over to the mounting block, she settled herself in the sidesaddle. The stallion seemed quieter today and it occurred to her why. Alex had turned him in with the mare. The thought sent her temper careening over the edge. Men! She dug her small, booted feet into the stallion’s sides. Was there nothing else they thought about?

“Have you seen Nicki?” Alex asked Rachael, who sat by herself in the dining room. Her breakfast plate was all but scraped clean, except for a lonely piece of corncake she couldn’t quite finish.

“She was supposed to join me, but she never came down. Maybe she is reading.”

And maybe she’d seen Lisette.
An occurrence he had hoped to avoid. Cursing softly, he set off to find Danielle. He’d already checked Nicki’s room and found her gone. Maybe Danielle would know where she went. He found the rotund maid out in back, airing some quilts to use in her mistress’s room when the weather turned cold.

“Have you seen Nicki?” he asked.

“Out, m’sieur.”

“Well, where the hell is she?”

“She went riding. You know how she loves to ride.”

“Who went with her?”

She only shrugged her shoulders. A stiff breeze ruffled her black cotton skirts. Alex glanced up to find the sky had turned cloudy, a flat gray mass that warned of a coming storm.

“She’d damned well better not have gone alone,” he swore, heading off toward the barn. When he found Napoleon gone and Nicki’s sidesaddle missing, he had his answer, but wished to God he didn’t.

“She went off by herself, didn’t she?”

Patrick didn’t waver beneath his hard look. “There’s no stoppin’ the lass once she has her mind set. But I wouldn’t worry too much. I told her to watch the weather.”

“And you believe she has enough sense to come in out of the rain?”

Patrick knew better than to answer. “Which one will ya be wantin’?”

“Voltaire is probably the fastest.”

Patrick led the big gray horse from its stall and hurriedly brushed his back in readiness for the saddle. As soon as he had finished, Alex set the lightweight leather in place, pulled the cinch tight, and swung aboard.

He’d find her, he vowed—and when he did, he would wring her pretty little neck.

Nicki took a trail that bordered one of the cane fields, riding Napoleon at a gallop. She’d been pushing him hard, but the stallion seemed tireless. The
wind had picked up and the clouds had grown thicker, but Nicki didn’t falter. She wouldn’t go back until her anger was depleted, and she could face Alexandre as if she didn’t care.

By now she realized how foolish she would be to confront him. She was living by his generosity, nothing more. He could sell her at a whim, rid himself of his burden in a heartbeat. She didn’t think he would do it, but after what she had witnessed in the foyer, she couldn’t be sure.

Thunder rolled in the distance, but she saw no lightning. Surely the storm was still some distance away. She slowed Napoleon and dismounted, walking him beside a small tributary stream that drained into the not-too-distant swamp. She still felt so furious, it amazed her. How could she be jealous of a man like him? Why had she been foolish enough to trust him in the first place? She knew what men were like, didn’t she? Firsthand, she had seen what they could do.

Nicki plucked a sprig of tall grass that grew at her feet where Napoleon was grazing. When she glanced up, she saw a rider coming toward her. She didn’t recognize the tall gray horse at first, but the man who sat atop him, riding with such grim determination, she knew in an instant. Damn him! Damn him to hell!

Alex reined up and dismounted just as the first few drops of rain began to fall. “What the devil do you think you’re doing out here? You promised you wouldn’t ride alone.”

“You only assumed I wouldn’t. I never gave you my word.”

“I thought you understood how dangerous it was.”

“I didn’t go near Fortier,” she said.

“I don’t care. I don’t want you taking any chances. From now on, you’ll ride with me or someone else—or not at all.”

“Go to hell.”

Alexandre’s eyes turned dark. “Say that again.”

“Go to hell.”

He grabbed her arms and hauled her against him. “Why, you stubborn little baggage. You’ll do exactly what I tell you.”

“Or you’ll what? Lock me in my room? Starve me again?”

Alex let go of her. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Why not? You’ve always got Lisette to keep you amused.”

“Lisette?” he repeated. Alex took in Nicki’s battle stance, the fiery gleam in her pretty aqua eyes. “So that’s what this is about.” He chuckled softly. “You’re jealous.”

“Jealous! Of you and that … that woman? You must be out of your mind.”

Alex grabbed her waist and pulled her against his chest. Fighting a grin of satisfaction, he nuzzled the place beside her ear. Nicki tried to push him away, but he held her easily, enjoying the feel of her, the warmth of her breasts as she struggled against him.

“Get away from me!” she warned, her voice charged with fury. “You’re nothing but an arrogant—womanizing—bastard!”

He thought her temper more seductive than ominous. “I’m glad you’re jealous.
Mon Dieu
, I’ve never seen you with so much fire.”

Nicki jerked away. Before she could stop herself, she drew back and slapped him hard across the face,
the resounding crack like the sound of the thunder in the distance. “Oh, God,” she whispered, feeling a jolt of the old, familiar fear.

Alex only smiled and rubbed a hand across his cheek. “You pack quite a punch for someone so small.”

“I—I’m sorry. I didn’t really mean to … I just … you just made me so angry.”

Alex reached for her but she stepped away, still uncertain what he meant to do.

This time he grinned, exposing the sensuous grooves beside his mouth. “I take it you saw us in the foyer.”

“Yes,” she said softly, wishing she could disguise the hurt.

“I was going to see her tonight because I wanted to tell her we were finished.”

“What?”

“Since she came to the house instead, I told her today.”

“You—you told her you wouldn’t be seeing her?”

“That’s right.”

“Because of your feelings for me?”

“Exactly.”

“But you told her she looked lovely. You kissed her.”

“She did look lovely. But I didn’t kiss her—she kissed me. There’s quite a difference. One I’ll be happy to demonstrate if you’ll give me the chance.”

He was telling the truth. She could tell by his arrogant smile, his self-satisfied expression. “Oh, Alex.”

Nicki launched herself into his arms, clutching his neck as he caught her up and swung her off her feet. His mouth covered hers, and she tasted the masculine
warmth of his breath. She opened to him, letting his tongue inside, then teasing it with her own. It was a sweet kiss, meant to tell him how wrong she had been, how sorry she was to have doubted him.

“Forgive me?” she asked.

“Almost anything,” he told her and kissed her again, molding his body against her until she felt weak. Only the raindrops, heavier now and beginning to soak through their clothes, brought them back to reality.

“It’s a long way home,” she told him with a soft smile, “we’d better get started.”

“We aren’t going home. There isn’t time. This storm looks worse than I thought. We’ll head up to the lodge. It isn’t that far away.”

“All right.” She let him guide her to the horses, the rain now falling steadily. He helped her up on Napoleon, mounted Voltaire, and they started off.

Along the path, the cane fields stretched beside them, waving their dark-green leaves like an eerie, undulating sea. The workers had long gone back to their shelters. On the opposite side of the road, the tall cypress trees that guarded the swamp whistled and moaned. Dry branches cracked and popped, leaves swirled and eddied and blew away.

“We’re really getting some wind,” he shouted over the howl of the storm. “We need to get inside before this gets worse.” With that he nudged the big gray faster, and Nicki did the same to the bay. A bolt of lightning split the sky, and the clouds opened up in a downpour. They rode hard until Alex turned off the main road and onto a smaller, now muddy path that led into the swamp. Branches whipped above their heads, and Nicki wondered at the wisdom of going
into such wild terrain. Then she spotted the top of a redbrick chimney above a two-story log house just coming into view.

Alex dismounted in front of the low, overhanging front porch and helped her down. Her rust-colored riding clothes, drenched and clinging to her body, were now a soggy mud-brown mess. Her copper hair was soaked, and most of the pins holding it in place had fallen out.

Alex turned the heavy brass doorknob and swung the door wide. “Go on in. I’ll take care of the horses and be right with you.”

Nicki nodded and Alex led the animals off toward a fenced corral with a lean-to at one end. Nicki closed the door against the storm and turned to survey the interior of the lodge.

Is was more like an oversized cabin. A huge brick fireplace made of bayou clay dominated the high-ceilinged room. A staircase led to the floor above. Most of the furniture, including the brown leather sofa in front of the hearth, was roughhewn, made from cypress logs. There were braided rugs on the wide plank floors and simple white curtains at the windows. It was more quaint than elegant, but everything looked clean and tidy.

The door swung open, and Alex walked in amidst a stirring of leaves. For the first time she noticed that his clothes were as wet as her own.

“I guess I should have turned back sooner,” she said, feeling a little bit guilty.

Alex tried to scowl, but a smile played on his lips. “I guess you should have.”

The wind outside blew a branch past the window. Nicki shivered. In two long strides, Alex reached her
side. “It’s still early in the year for a fire, but tonight I think we could use one.”

As he set to work at the hearth, snapping twigs and setting logs on the grate, Nicole glanced around again. “Does someone live here?”

“No. We use it for hunting. Mostly deer, but sometimes bear. Some of the men like to hunt raccoon. Nora James, the overseer’s wife, sees to keeping it clean.” He finished with the fire and returned to her side. “We’d better get out of these clothes.”

For the first time, Nicki felt uncertain. “We’re alone here, Alex. It wouldn’t be proper for me to undress.”

Alex smiled indulgently. “It wouldn’t be proper for you to catch pneumonia, either.”

His long legs carried him across the room to the wooden staircase, which he climbed to the rooms above. He returned with two soft woolen blankets.

“You can wrap up in this.” Handing her a blanket, he turned her back to him so he could unfasten her buttons. Though she didn’t like the idea, it was hard to argue with his logic. She certainly didn’t want to get sick.

“We can dry them in front of the fire,” he added as he peeled down her soggy bodice.

“Alex!” Nicki shrieked, pulling away from him. “What are you doing?”

“Playing lady’s maid,” he answered with a grin. “Now, will you stand still?”

Nicki’s cheeks flamed, but she did as she was told. Alex helped her out of her skirts and petticoats, then unlaced her corsets, leaving her in chemise and pantalets. The wetness had penetrated even those, turning them almost transparent. She knew because
when she glanced up at Alex, his eyes were no longer on her face. Instead, he was staring at the dark-pink circles peeking through the fabric, her nipples hard and puckered against the cold.

Watching his expression, the darkness that had gathered in his eyes, Nicki suddenly couldn’t breathe. She just stood there, mesmerized by the way his eyes moved down her body, pausing for a moment to measure her tiny waist, then examining the curve of her hips. They settled on the dark red curls at the juncture of her legs.

“Beautiful,” he whispered softly.

With trembling fingers and a pounding heart, Nicki drew the blanket around her.

Alex only smiled. He was thinking how innocent she looked. But then, in a way she was. From the venom with which she had spoken of her past, it was obvious the men she’d been with had taken what they wanted, used her to satisfy their needs with no concern for hers.

Tonight all that would change.

Tonight he would show her the joys of love, pleasure her in the countless ways he had imagined. He couldn’t have planned it better if he’d tried.

Clutching the blanket around her, Nicki watched as Alex unfastened the cuffs on his shirt, worked the buttons down the front, tugged it free of his pants, and stripped it away.

Naked to the waist, his breeches clung wetly to the muscles of his legs and the taut, round flesh of his buttocks. She sucked in a breath at the sight of his aroused manhood, pressing determinedly against the front of his pants.