LeClerc 01 - Autumn Ecstasy (33 page)

“Ach, mon, have ye lost your mind?” she asked.

“I can’t protect you here. There are too many things that could happen to you that I would be powerless to prevent.”

“Do you think the city safer? I could walk out in front of a carriage or trip on the cobbled streets and break my neck. Do you have any idea how many diseases travel through the city during the winter and spring? I could catch one and die of it! If you want me safe from everything, you’d have to put me in an ivory tower and never let me out!”

He could not argue against the rationality of her statements. Nonetheless, the decision had been made, and he would not change his mind.

“We will leave next week.”

Linsey swore at him in hotly flowing Gaelic, turned on her heels and stamped toward the cabin. Bear watched until she rounded the corner of the structure, the slamming of the door confirming her safe arrival. Lowering himself to the ground, he leaned against a tree, one leg bent and a heavy forearm resting on his knee, the other hand lying palm up on his thigh. Lost to the soothing sounds of the creek, Bear sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

When he’d read the pleading in her eyes, he had wanted to take her in his arms and make passionate love to her here at the edge of the creek. That was something he could never again do. His body ached at the thought of touching hers, joining with her. It would not be easy to deny himself, or her, the special joy that came to them when they became one. But if he made love to her, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to take her back.

He loved her with a depth that surprised him. But how could he make her understand that his love gave him the strength to send her away?

He wished the argument was over, but he knew better. His Autumn Fire would not give in so easily. Now she was angry. Soon her temper would cool, and she would begin to plot and plan. He groaned at the thought of the devious methods she would use to make him change his mind. Somehow he had to stand strong, resist her at every turn.

Bear did not even attempt to fool himself into thinking it would be easy.

It was midday before Bear returned to the cabin. Without a word, Linsey placed a meal on the table, sitting across from him and calmly eating.

Bear watched her with narrowed eyes, waiting — for what, he didn’t know — but he knew the battle was far from over. When they were finished, she cleaned the table, quickly dispensing with the dishes. He silently admired her efficiency, remembering her awkwardness months earlier when she attempted to do the slightest chore.

Grabbing two buckets, Linsey walked to the door, ignoring him when he asked where she was headed. She returned, the buckets filled with water, and emptied them into a kettle. Moving it over the fire to heat, Linsey picked up the buckets and left the cabin again.

On her third trip from the creek, Bear could stand it no longer. When she poured the water into the tub she used for bathing, he grabbed the empty buckets and left.

Linsey smiled to herself. It wasn’t fair, what she had planned, but she didn’t have time to be fair. Arguing would obviously get her nowhere, and she didn’t want to use the baby as one of her arguments for staying. Her smile disappeared, and she placed her hand on her slightly swollen abdomen. If nothing else worked, she would tell him of the baby, but she didn’t like the idea. With a sigh of determination, she poured the kettle of boiling water into the tub and waited for him to return.

She was sitting in a chair looking meek, hands folded in her lap, when he carried in the water. He added it to the tub and turned away, retracing his steps to the creek.

When he again returned from the creek, Bear stopped dead still in the doorway. Linsey had stripped and was sitting in the tub, her knees folded beneath her. Her hair was pulled carelessly to the top of her head, long strands hanging in enticing curls on her shoulders.

The water came to the tops of her thighs, waving invitingly around the curls of her femininity. Her soft, pale skin was silvered as she cupped her hands and let water cascade down her chest. Bear watched as it flowed from the tips of her puckered nipples. Her breasts bobbed with each of her movements, and he barely stifled a groan as she ran her hands down her body.

“Oh, you’re back,” she said nonchalantly. “Would you mind pouring it into the kettle to warm?”

“Is this enough?” he asked through gritted teeth as he added the buckets of water to the kettle.

Linsey bit her lower lip and pretended to consider the amount of water. “Maybe one more trip? Just a little more.”

Bear turned to leave, thinking a little more was a whole lot more than he could stand.

“Could you hand me the soap, please?” She smiled sweetly, her hand casually drifting over the slope of her breast. She watched his eyes follow her hand, and she wondered if he had any idea how hungrily he looked at her.

“Where is it?” He had to get out of here! Another minute and it would be too late. As badly as he wanted to make love to her, he knew he couldn’t. He could never let her go if he did.

Linsey leaned back against the edge of the tub, raised her arm until her nipples seemed to point directly at him and pointed to the soap, which was conveniently just out of reach.

Bear handed her the soap, grabbed the buckets and left. His return trip took considerably longer than previous trips, and the water was beginning to cool when he again entered the cabin.

“Oh, good, could you check and see if the water is warmed yet?” Linsey asked beguilingly. “This is getting pretty cold.”

Bear set down the buckets and checked the kettle over the fire. He’d stayed away, fighting to get himself under control. He told himself that this was only the first stage in her battle to get him to change his mind; he had to be strong. He’d gone so far as to believe everything he’d told himself … until he’d walked back into the cabin.

“Do you want me to pour it in?”

“Please?”

He emptied the kettle into the tub, careful not to pour it directly onto her skin. Linsey sighed as the warmth flowed around her, closing her eyes and leaning back against the edge of the tub. She listened to Bear move around the room, and as his steps neared the door, she spoke.

“Bear, would you wash my back.”

“Don’t do this to me, Linsey!” he snarled, hands clenching into white-knuckled fists.

“Do what?” she asked innocently. “All I’m doing is taking a bath.” She splashed the water over her shoulders. “You wash my back, and then I’ll wash yours.”

“It won’t work! You will go back to Philadelphia!” He walked out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him.

Bear realized he needed a bath … desperately. Pulling his shirt off over his head, he dropped it on the path. Stopping long enough to unlace his leggings, he removed them and his moccasins, leaving them where they landed. Barely missing a step, he took off his pants and walked into the freezing water of the creek.

Bear returned to the cabin just as dusk was turning to dark and found the table set, dinner waiting only for his return. Linsey greeted him as if nothing different had happened all day, talking conversationally during the meal, casually ignoring his grunted replies.

After the meal, Linsey sat quietly sewing while he prowled restlessly around the room. Nothing held his attention, and he watched her from the corner of his eyes, waiting for her next move. He couldn’t help but wonder if the wait was worse than her action. He was to discover that it wasn’t.

“Bear, would you mind trying on this shirt?” Linsey held up a bright plaid flannel shirt she’d been working on for days. It hadn’t been easy with the boys to care for, but with them gone, she had quickly finished it.

He narrowed his eyes. Something wasn’t right. She had made him several shirts but had checked the fit on only the first one. Why, suddenly, did she need to see how this one fit?

“Oh, never mind,” Linsey replied with disgust when she saw his look. “I had to use the end of the bolt of material, and I was afraid I cut the sleeves too short. If it doesn’t fit when you put it on, it will be no one’s fault but your own!”

Rather sheepishly, he began to remove his shirt. He was acting childishly, being suspicious over her slightest request. Bare chested, he approached her, reaching for the shirt she had thrown onto the table. He slid his arms into the sleeves and flinched when he felt her hands on his chest.

“Don’t!”

“Don’t what? I was only helping with the buttons.” Linsey folded her arms and took a step back. “Do it yourself then!”

“I’m sorry, Autumn Fire,” he replied softly. “It’s only that … ah, well I mean…

“Just finish with the buttons and turn around,” Linsey said with a sigh.

Standing with his back to her, Bear did not see the narrowing of her eyes or the slight smile that crossed her lips.

Linsey placed her hands on his shoulders, satisfied with the fit of the shirt … and the tightening of his muscles beneath her fingers. Instructing him to lift his arms out to his sides, she lightly ran her hand from under his arm to the bottom of the shirt at his hip, delighting in his nearly silent groan as she followed the hem across his tight buttocks.

“Looks good,” she mumbled, pulling on the hem as long as possible. “Turn around. Let’s see how it looks from the front.”

Linsey carefully controlled her expression when she saw the muscle jumping in his jaw and his tightly clenched teeth. Her hands moved to his shoulders, and she heard his breath catch as she slowly smoothed the shirt over his chest. Again she had him hold his arms out to his sides, making a great show of checking the fit.

He flinched visibly when she took his hand and put it beneath her arm so that it rested against her breast. Linsey fiddled with his sleeve, pulling, stretching, straightening, insuring that each of her moves pushed her breast against his hand.

As she dropped his arm, Bear’s sigh of relief was choked off when she positioned his other hand in the same manner. Her hardened nipple burned into his palm, rubbing very gently with each of her movements. It was torture of the most subtle kind.

“Are you about finished?” His voice grated harshly in the silence as he fought to control the hardening of his body. It was a battle he was closer to losing each time she took a breath and her breast filled his hand.

“Men!” Linsey said, shaking her head. “You’re so impatient! I realize you don’t like trying on this shirt, but I promise I’ll finish as quickly as possible.”

She stepped away and let his arm fall. She had him move his arms in several different directions and made a show of studying how the shirt pulled. With his arms over his head, Linsey tugged at the hem, muttering about the length, letting her fingers appear to accidentally slip. They slid down the front of his pants, gently caressing the rigid bulge they encountered.

“Enough!” Bear roared, pulling away from her.

“Well, I guess it fits,” she sighed. “I really was worried about it, particularly after spending so much time on it.”

“I appreciate your work,” Bear said, his fingers clumsy as he attempted to undo the buttons.

“You really sound it,” she replied sarcastically.

“I guess I’m just tired.” He knew he sounded ungrateful, but another minute of her innocent touches and he would have thrown her onto the bed, and nothing would have stopped him from making love to her.

“I’m kind of tired, too. Let’s go to bed.” Linsey walked across the room, sat on the edge of the bed and began removing her leather shoes.

She rarely wore her dress and shoes, preferring the comfort of the Shawnee clothing, but after her bath, she decided it would suit her purposes better. When the shoes were untied, she kicked them off. Extending first one leg and then the other, she slowly roiled down her carefully mended stockings. Reaching beneath her skirt, she pulled off her drawers. From the corners of her eyes, she saw that Bear had unbuttoned the shirt and it hung halfway down his shoulders. His eyes were riveted to her hands, following her every move.

As her fingers moved to the buttons down the front of the dress, Bear began to wonder why he had decided not to make love to her again.

With painful slowness, first one button and then another came free. He decided it was a stupid decision — Linsey unworked the last button and slid one shoulder from the gown — a ridiculously stupid decision, he admitted to himself.

When her other creamy shoulder appeared and the dress slid to the ground, he knew he’d never made a dumber decision in his life.

The top of Linsey’s lacy cotton chemise was just above the slope of her breasts. The bottom rode at the very top of her thighs. Bear found himself hoping she’d raise her shoulders, very slightly. He nearly choked when she did and he caught a peek at tight red curls.

When they disappeared beneath the lace again, his eyes moved once more to her hands. Her nimble fingers opened the first two flat, white buttons. Bear let his shirt slide off his shoulders, unaware of it landing on the dirt floor.

Two more buttons and Linsey’s breasts bobbed before his eyes, only their rosy peaks hidden beneath the soft cotton. Bear hastily tore at the thongs lacing his moccasins.

He grew impatient when she moved her hands from her chemise, but as she raised her arms to release her hair, he lowered his eyes, once again feasting like a starving man on the fiery curls between her thighs.