Love by Dawn (14 page)

Biting her lower lip until
she caused tears to form, she sobbed, “Oh, please do not whip me.
I’m sorry, and I promise not to insult you again.” It was not
terror shaking her, but inner laughter she couldn’t control and she
had to bite her lip again to try to stop her mirth. She lifted her
hand to her mouth to cover a grin she couldn’t restrain then she
lowered her head for fear he would see her amusement in her eyes.
Not giving him a chance to respond she quickly added, “I will do
anything you want.” She emitted a low sob, “but I don’t want to be
parted from my brother.”
It took a lot for
her to swallow her pride, putting her own welfare behind her
brother’s.

Hiding a smug smile, the blanket clutched in
her one hand and the pot in the other, Casey sprang to her feet and
into his unsuspecting arms. With every intention to distract him,
she stood on her toes, with the pot ready to do damage to his
skull. She then snaked her arms around his neck, placing her head
against his broad chest, she could feel his heart beat wildly. This
was going to be easy she thought and pulled his warm mouth down to
hers.

The kiss made her brain explode in a
thousand directions, causing an array of fireworks behind her
eyelids. It caught her off guard and soon their tongues were
dancing as if they had a mind of their own. She was so stunned at
her own passion she soon forgot about Hunter and revenge. Even her
belligerence fled as heat began to seep out of every pore on her
body. Casey wrapped both arms around his neck, losing the blanket,
her senses and all modesty.

And, of course she let the weapon clang to
the floor.

Casey watched him remove the headdress and
loin clout to stand proudly with no shame in the firelight. He was
the most beautiful male specimen she had ever seen. Although she
claimed to know many men, in truth, she had not and that brought
her back to reality making her shrink away.

When Casey had put her
welfare before her own, he was jealous of her love for Hunter and
would give anything to have her feel that way about him. Blake had
scowled, not liking the way this was going. He thought by calling
her Bright Star, it would make him more believable, but never
suspected her to change her character and become so meek. He
wondered if he had gone overboard with his cruel remark. He thought
it had been a good bluff, but now he was sorry that he frightened
her.
It took great control not to go and
take her in his arms and beg her to forgive him. He had glared,
seeing her tremble and wondered if his plan was a good idea. At
first she did surprise him with her effort to show bravery, but
what did he expect? He knew she wouldn’t be intimidated easily, now
he wasn’t so sure anymore.

What did you expect? She is a woman, you
fool!

What he didn’t expect was for her to throw
herself into his arms and Blake lost all control and pulled her
back into his embrace. He placed feathery kisses over her face and
neck, but he wondered how she could give herself so freely to a
stranger. He was disappointed that maybe she had spoken the truth
earlier. But his heart would not let his head reason with any
clarity when his organ swelled with desire. Not able to stop the
passion that engulfed him any more than she could, Blake picked her
up and placed her down onto the fur blanket near the fire. This was
not the way he had planned it, but this was the way he had hoped it
would end.

He saw the hesitation in her light eyes and
quickly lay besides her taking her swollen mouth in his again. His
tongue flicked into every cavity, hungry to taste every drop of her
sweat fluid. He couldn’t give her a chance to come to her senses
and put a stop to their lovemaking. God help him, he couldn’t turn
back. His blood was on fire and only this bundle of soft flesh
could extinguish it.

His hands roamed virgin territory, bringing
a throaty moan from her. His kisses moved lower capturing a taut
nipple between his teeth and the sensation caused the girl to gasp
with delight. He was going to torment her breasts as long as he
liked. He had been with women before, but he never wanted to spend
so much time in giving pleasure as he did with Casey. He would
always make sure his partner received as much fulfillment as he,
but the gratification he was receiving was more than he had ever
experienced. When he believed that he was about to explode he
opened her legs and entered her warm sheath.

Casey gasped when the barrier was broken with
a popping sound. He paused for a moment angered by her falsehood
knowing that he entered her with more force that he would have if
she hadn’t lied about being a virgin. He heard her gasp and
stopped.

“This is no time for regrets Blake. You
played with my body so intensely, I thought I was being tortured,
but a punishment I’d gladly go through again,” she purred and he
moved once again, exploding within her with a curse on his lips.
Too weak to speak they lay entwined in each others embrace. He knew
that they had plenty to say to one another. Long moments later,
Blake made the first move as he untangled her arms from around his
neck. He was more annoyed than delighted that she was untouched as
she claimed. She had played him for a fool and that angered
him.

“I want a good reason why I shouldn’t take
you across my knee and tan your pretty hide; something I should’ve
done a long time ago!” He was frowning something fierce, spitting
out his next words, “How dare you lie to me?!”

“Me? Are you trying to make me laugh?” she
sputtered, nonplused. “Lie about what? What do you mean?”

Oh, she was good trying
to
feign ignorance.

“Don’t be coy, Casey! You know my point! You
deliberately deceived me about all the braves you had.”

“I don’t think I had a choice,” she stated,
pointing out the obvious.

“I should’ve knowed you were lying when you
claimed to have been captured,” he railed.

“How dare you lecture me about deception?”
Casey recoiled and sat up, now appearing mortified by her
nakedness. She tried to cover herself with the fur, but he grabbed
her wrists and snapped, “I like you just the way you are.”

The look Casey gave him
spoke volumes. A hiss escaped through her gritted teeth with
regretful thoughts,
that insufferable
smirk. Whatever possessed her to do such a thing?
But
she couldn’t deny
the truth any longer.
You intended to save
your brother, but you had lost your heart to that tall handsome
stranger. You didn’t do this for Hunter; you did it for
Casey.

A groan lay dormant in her throat. She tasted
only shame and anger at herself, more than she did for Blake.
Taking her frustrations out on Blake, she tried to free herself
from his grip and spat, “You started this by trying to frightened
me you… you big oaf.” She forgot how vulnerable she was and cursed
him up and down. “I despise you!”

Okay, despise was a bit harsh.

With a guarded expression, he sighed, “We’ll
discuss this when you’re not so emotional.”

If he wanted to pacify her, the cowboy
certainly missed his mark and he had a lot to learn about
women.

Casey blew at her unruly hair and retorted,
“I don’t get emotional and I’m downright pissed!” She saw his
irises turn to blue ice. Now, that really frightened her. Blake
tugged her until they were nose to nose and she groaned in sheer
frustration. He had turned her world topsy-turvy.

“I don’t know whether to kiss your pouting
lips again or strangle you!”

He didn’t do either; instead he fell back on
the dirt floor and laughed.

Forgetting her nudity, she put her hands on
her hips and scowled. “What the hell is so funny?” She hated to
sound so whinny, but drat it all, this was such a frustrating
dilemma!

“You,” he pointed an accusing finger at her.
“Ha!”

“Me?” She was completely stumped.

“You look like you’re going on the war path.
Your face is smeared from my paint.” He was holding his sides with
great guffaws. She touched her cheek and frowned at the tell-tall
smudges and snorted, “Well, don’t laugh too hard because yours is a
mess also,” she informed him having a hard time keeping a straight
face.

They looked at each other and she couldn’t be
serious or even mad. Casey burst into laughter which quickly turned
into long sobs that wouldn’t stop, just got worse. It was a release
from the turmoil and worry of the past months. Her lover took her
into the fold of his arms as light filtered into the dwelling and
she knew she had fallen deeply in love at dawn. He let her cry
herself to sleep with the knowledge that it was a new day and a new
feeling.

SEVENTEEN

Blake woke before Casey and studied her pert
beautiful face. He touched her silken wheat hair, delighting at its
softness. Her warm body, snuggling so close made his manhood swell.
No other woman stirred his blood the way she did and he knew he was
falling in love with her. The idea didn’t scare him as much as he
thought it would; never had he fancied himself loving someone and
spending the rest of his life with that person. This little slip of
a girl had found her way into his heart the moment he first found
out she wasn’t a boy. Even with her dirty face and male attire, she
did things to his senses.

He sighed deeply. Did she feel the same way
towards him? He hoped she did. Her body had responded to his caress
and that thought made his emotions leap with a sense of power. But
he wanted her heart, not just her luscious body to long for his
loving touches. His eyes wandered from Casey to the surroundings.
It was only a few years ago he lived among the Indians and he had
forgotten how warm and secure the inside of a wickiup could feel.
Many size leather bags hung from the support pole, each bag
different in shape, size and color. Crude bowls and utensils sat
near the now cold fire. He also noticed the fawn colored dress
lying by Casey’s mat and suspected she had come to learn many of
the customs of the tribe. It was an interesting but hard life. He
brought to mind the feel of her small hands on his back and her
callused finger tips. She was a hard worker and not as delicate as
she looked, with all the qualities of a good wife. She was not
afraid to work and would be a wild lover to warm his bed and would
be a perfect soul mate. Albeit, she did have a prickly side to her
like the desert cactus and a sharp tongue, but that made her all
the more interesting. The warm body finally stirred and moaned
softly bringing him out of his thoughts.

Casey slowly opened her
eyes, momentarily forgetting Blake was beside her. In her
semi-awake state she sighed softly. Strangely contented with the
urge to purr, she stretched her body feeling a slight twinge in her
core, bringing back the reality of last night. She recalled how
Blake’s love made her feel. She knew she had responded wantonly,
surrendering her emotions shamelessly. Even now her body was
stimulated by his touch. Her sleepy eyes snapped opened.
What did he think of her complete
abandonment?

Turning to see the object of her thoughts
staring at her, she grew warm all over. Twin glints of laughter
leaped into Blake’s loving eyes and her heart gave a little
leap.

How dare he look so smug? How dare her body
react so willingly?

Bemused, he said with a lazy gleam of a
smile, “Why the frown, sweetheart?”

Lowering the thick veil of her lashes, Casey
peeked out of the corner of her eyes. How would she reveal her
thoughts? Not able to look at him, she swallowed nervously and
admitted, “I don’t know what came over me last night. I’m not that
kind of a girl and I’m ashamed of the way I abandoned myself to
you.” With renewed chagrin she looked away, but he was pulled her
tightly into his arms.

“I don’t know what kind of girl you think you
are, but I hope you don’t regret making love to me.” Casey opened
her mouth to tell him that she didn’t, but he put his finger
against her lips. “In case you didn’t notice, I had no control over
my emotions either and it was your caresses that sent my senses
reeling. My body reacted to your touch like never before. I’m
pleased that you loved me completely. Never be ashamed of your
feelings, especially towards me. I don’t think any less of you
because of your actions.”

Still slightly mortified, she relaxed a bit
in his embrace. I guess something that felt that good couldn’t be
bad she thought and recalled his soft moans at her touch. She was
elated that she could make his body tremble as he made hers. Blake
explained to her the reason behind his foolish plan and again they
made sweet love.

She was surprised to learn that Star Gazer
had feelings for her and she would have hated being the object of
two good friends clashing over her. It saddened Casey that the
Indian’s feeling would be hurt, but she was glad there would be no
fighting. She finally believed Blake when he swore that he had no
intention of bringing Hunter back. In fact, he confessed he had
been sleeping better; his conscience was relieved after he had made
that decision.

So elated and happy the way things turned
out, she playfully teased Blake saying, “You mean I threw myself at
you like a shameful tart for nothing.” She added a pout for
effect.

Blake arched his eyebrows. “So you think last
night was for nothing.” Throwing her back against the fur, he
kissed her passionately until she swooned. “Ah, I saw laughter in
you brandy eyes, my little vixen. The pulse in your neck beats as
rapidly as my heart is racing.” After making love for the third
time in a few hours, he asked her again if she thought it was for
nothing. Casey knew enough to lower her lashes in defeat.