Sweet Savage Heart (48 page)

“What kind of job would a pretty lady like you need doing?” Wes asked, pouring more whiskey into Clarissa’s cup.

“I need an important man killed,” she stated simply.

Wes’s face revealed surprise. He eyed her keenly, then grinned. After downing the contents of his cup, he asked, “Who, and why?”

Clarissa laughed sultrily. She set down her cup, strolled to the door, and opened it. She pressed the center of her back against the frame and, on either side of her hips, clasped the edges of it with her fingers, striking a pose that caused her bosom to jut out noticeably. She rubbed her fingers over the hewn logs behind her, relishing the feel of the biting splinters and rough surface. She looked outside and inhaled the breeze that
carried with it the blended odors of wildflowers and grasses. It was dark, for only a quarter moon was shining and clouds concealed most of the stars. Hints of a possible thunderstorm filled the air and she hoped it would strike, for she loved the awesome power of raw nature. The cabin smelled of cheroot smoke, whiskey, gun oil, leather, and masculine sweat: sensual and stimulating fragrances to her. When Wes joined her at the door and leaned against the other side, she murmured, “Do you ever do jobs only for the money and without questions? You didn’t ask how much I’m willing to pay.”

Wes straightened and stepped toward her. He trailed his fingers up her left arm and down the opening of her shirt until a button halted him. His right hand slipped over one breast and cupped it, then his forefinger and thumb kneaded the taut point between them. He was stirred by her lack of a chemise and the way her peak responded to his touch. He kept staring into Clarissa’s eyes as he made move after move on her body. She returned his gaze, and not once did she attempt to stay his hands or scold him. As Wes’s left hand drifted down the outside of her leg, then made its way up the inside of her thigh, he asked in a hoarse voice, “I always have to know who I’m killing and why, ‘cause some jobs ain’t worth the risks. Money is useless if you’re put in jail or six feet under.” Wes’s hand made contact with a fuzzy patch between Clarissa’s thighs. He realized she wasn’t wearing anything but a shirt and skirt and a pair of boots. Pressing his hardened manhood against her thigh, he began to massage the greedy bud beneath her skirt. “Tell me, Miss Caldwell, what is a beautiful and desirable woman willing to pay for this important man’s life?”

Clarissa undulated her hips against his hand and responded breathlessly, “Tonight, I only want to know if you’re for hire. In a few weeks, I’ll tell you who and why,
and how to do it. First of all, I have to make sure I can trust you to do the job perfectly and secretly.”

“Unbutton your shirt,” he commanded in a ragged voice. After she obeyed, he replied, “You’ve got a deal, Miss Caldwell, if I like your first payment tonight.” His mouth closed over one breast and his finger slipped inside her moist body.

Clarissa loosened the sheet and let it fall to the floor. She grasped his manhood and murmured, “I’ll make certain you don’t change your mind, Wes. You do this job for me, and you can name your price.”

He looked her in the eye and said, “The price is you, woman.”

Clarissa smiled and drew his mouth to hers…

It was nearing two o’clock when Travis reached the house. He removed his boots at the front door and entered stealthily. Taking the low-burning lantern from the front hallway, he slipped quietly to Rana’s door. Deciding it was too late to disturb her, he went to his room and undressed. Before he could toss the cover aside and lie down, his door opened and Rana came inside, closing it after her entrance, and seeming not to notice that he was standing nude near his bed. Even if she had noticed his condition, it did not seem to trouble or embarrass her or deter her from her purpose.

The lantern on the bedside table gave off a soft glow, which lovingly bathed her in its adoring light and enhanced the colors of her flaming hair and gray-blue eyes. Without a word or hesitation, she came forward and halted before him, leaving only a few inches separating their bodies as she looked up into his striking face. Her yearning gaze locked with his and each absorbed the bond that stretched between them and encircled them. Only their soft breathing could be heard in the quietness. As if magically transfixed, neither spoke or moved; they just looked at each other, each sensing the other’s matching need.

A light breeze played with the thin covering over the open window and sent stirring fragrances into the shadowy room. Beyond it, if they had not been so enraptured by each other, they would have heard cattle lowing, night birds and insects singing soulfully, and the distant rumble of thunder. The lantern light danced across their entranced features and susceptible bodies, highlighting certain areas as each admired the appeal of the other. It was as if all else was moving very slowly in an attempt to postpone the intrusions of a new day.

Travis lifted one hand and tenderly caressed her face, touching and enjoying each arresting feature. Rana did the same to him. They looked, and touched, and savored each other as if mesmerized. Travis’s hands cupped her face and he brushed his lips so lightly over hers that it seemed their mouths were barely touching. His lips drifted lazily over her face, making contact with each rise and fall of its beloved features. His warm respiration was tantalizing at her ear as he buried his nose and hands in her thick hair. His mouth moved across her forehead and kissed each closed eye and then her nose before gently claiming her mouth. The kiss was leisurely and romantic, and ever so gradually he deepened its pressure and intensity, revealing his immense pleasure and yearning. His hands slipped down her neck and across her shoulders and he released the quilt that was wrapped around her, bringing their naked bodies together. His kisses softened once more, for he wanted this stimulating period to stir her thoroughly.

Rana’s fingers trailed over Travis’s firm yet pliant frame, stopping her and there to caress a bulging muscle or to admire the supple sleekness of his physique. His golden flesh felt so warm and vital, as if she were caressing the soft underbelly of a mighty buck. Her fingers traced over tiny scars that told of his battleriddled life and enormous prowess, and she lovingly
touched those that had gone much deeper than his skin. As he nibbled on her neck and shoulder, she nuzzled his ear and the side of his head. It was sheer bliss just to touch him and to be touched by him. Her hands grew bolder in their wanderings, as did his.

Travis lifted her and placed her on his bed. After dousing the lantern, he joined her. Time passed as they kissed and caressed and explored sensations that heightened their passions. There were no inhibitions or hesitations, no shame or guilt, but only the richness and beauty of their unique love. Both seemed to want to know every inch on the other’s body, and how it affected the other when that area was touched and kissed in different ways. It was as if they had forever to enjoy this rapturous enlightenment, and as if they had been a part of each other longer than time itself. But fiery desires, which had been kindled so skillfully and rigidly held at a smoldering peak while they savored these stimulating pleasures, gradually seared through their control and ignited their flaming passions into one roaring blaze.

Their kisses and caresses expressed the depth and urgency of their mutual desire. As their bodies fused into one, Travis murmured against her ear, “I love you, Rana, more than anyone in my life. I waited a long time for someone special to enter my heart. Be mine forever,
micante.”
He kissed her possessively, hungrily.

She felt weak and breathless from the intensity of her emotions. “I am yours forever,
mihigna.
My heart is filled with love for you. Let no one and nothing come between us, or part us.”

Together they scaled and conquered the heights of blissful ecstasy and, afterward, settled peacefully in each other’s arms. Travis lay on his back and cuddled her snugly against him. He continued to caress her tenderly until his breathing rate was restored to normal. “We have to talk,
micante,”
he finally murmured, hating to
allow anything to intrude on their meager time together, particularly the Caldwells, but knowing he should speak promptly to avoid misunderstanding.

“About Clarissa Caldwell and her father?” she asked knowingly.

Travis tensed uncontrollably, and wished he had not. “Lordy, Rana, how do I explain a dirty mess like this? I should have told you about them earlier, but it’s such a bitter matter. It makes me mad every time I see them or think about them, and it riled me good when Clarissa raced her fanny over here tonight. I hope you didn’t get too upset with me for meeting with her outside. By the time I escorted her home, I was so agitated I had to go riding to settle down.” His tone changed noticeably as he continued. “They scare me, Rana, and I don’t scare easily. They’re evil, and cunning, and greedy. I don’t want you getting involved with either one of them, but I doubt that’s possible. Promise me you’ll hear me out before you get mad, ‘cause I’ve done some things and plan to do others that you won’t like.”

When he seemed to have difficulty finding the right words to begin, she coaxed, “Do not be afraid to speak what is in your heart. I love you. I will understand… and obey, for you would not ask me to do anything that does not matter greatly to us. We are as one now, and what harms you harms me. Reveal your fears and pain.”

He hugged her fiercely. “Lordy, woman, do I even deserve you? I love you and trust you, Rana, but what I have to tell you and ask you will prove hard and painful, for both of us. And it’s very dangerous.”

“My father… I mean Soaring Hawk, told me that waiting makes it no easier, and sharing pain makes it less. Love and trust are powerful weapons, my beloved husband, and they can defeat evil if you believe in them strongly and use them against your enemies.”

“I don’t want to do or say anything that might cause
trouble between us. I love you and need you, Rana. If you don’t agree with what I suggest, I swear I won’t do it, no matter what the consequences might be.”

“Consequences?” she echoed in confusion.

“Things that happen because of something we say or do. Usually consequences are bad things that happen after we make a mistake,” he explained. “Let me tell you about Clarissa and her evil father; then you’ll see what we’re up against.” Travis revealed what he knew Harrison had done and what he believed the man was going to attempt. He discussed his past deceit with Clarissa and his current scheme to extract information from her by pretending she was special to him. He told her what had taken place at the corral and what had happened afterward. “I promise you it won’t ever go any further than that. It makes me sick just to fake responses and touch her. It’s even harder now that I have you. You’ll have to play along with this game, Rana, or I’ll have to stop it right now. Do you understand how dangerous it can be for all of us, especially you, if Clarissa and her father see you as a problem?”

Rana sat up and lapsed into deep thought. Several things became very clear to her: if Clarissa doubted she could win Travis, the selfish creature would consider him of little use, and his life would be in danger; also, her grandfather would be safe only as long as the Caldwells retained hope of getting the ranch peacefully through Travis and Clarissa. Until her unexpected return, Travis had been Nathan’s only heir, but now that she stood to inherit the property, the Caldwells might view her as an obstacle to their evil plans. She was worried about the proximity of the two gunslingers who had once tried to murder her beloved, and deeply concerned over the evil those men could do in league with the Caldwells. Travis was right; they must join forces to unmask and overcome them.

“Rana?” Travis whispered apprehensively. He had not told Rana about Clarissa’s insults and insinuations about her mother, and he feared that perhaps she sensed he was withholding something. But he refused to tell her things that could be lies and would pain her deeply. “Tell me what you think,” he encouraged, sitting up beside her. He wished the room hadn’t been so dark, for he yearned to see her expression; yet he could not blame her if she chose to be angry about what he had said and done with Clarissa.

She snuggled against him. “You love me, and you need my help and understanding. You will have all of them, and all of me. We must make plans and decide how much we will tell Grandfather. He will be sad if he does not know why we behave so coldly to each other.”

Travis seized her and hugged her with overpowering love and gratitude. “We’ll tell him how much I love you and want to marry you just as soon as this mess is over, if you’ll say yes a second time.”

“Are you sure you wish to make this choice so soon?”

He kissed her forehead. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re already married, by our choice. All we need to do is make it legal under the white man’s law. Well, what do you think about marrying me again?”

“I love you and would marry you again and again,” she responded happily. “We must tell Grandfather about our love and plans for a new marriage; he will help us keep our secrets and fool our enemies. It will be good to work as a family to defeat such evil foes. But we should not tell Grandfather about this,” she murmured playfully, pressing him to the bed and running her hands over his body. She kissed and caressed him feverishly, stirring new passions to life. When he was completely ensnared by heady desire, she confessed her earlier spying. They both laughed.

There were only a few hours remaining before dawn.
Travis kissed Rana gently and told her she must return to her room and bed. She did as he requested, anticipating the day when such secrecy would no longer be necessary. Never had she been so happy, or so nervous about their impending actions. She snuggled into her comfortable bed and closed her eyes, pleased that she had gone to him, thereby preventing any problems.

Hours later, Rana smelled breakfast cooking. She slipped into the bathing closet to refresh herself and to dress for this busy day. As she entered the kitchen, she found Nathan sitting at the table and drinking coffee. They exchanged smiles. Nathan told her that Travis had left earlier to handle the morning chores. She ate while Nathan sat smiling at her.