Sweet Silken Bondage (31 page)

Clay did not press his possession of her at that
moment, though, for he felt her go tense in expectation. Her action surprised him a bit, because he
thought her a woman well-versed in the ways of
men.

"Easy..." he told her.

He began kissing her and caressing her again
until he felt the anxiety ebb from her slender form.
Then with the utmost of care, he lifted her hips to receive him and, positioning himself, surged forward
to enter her completely and fully.

The fact of her virginity became known to Clay
only as he breached that slight barrier of her innocence. It shocked him, even as it shamed him. He
stopped, holding himself rigidly still, even though
his body demanded satisfaction, now that it was
buried in the sweet-heat of hers.

"Reina..." he rasped.

Clay tried to hold back, but his passion was too
strong to be long denied. His sensibilities were
brushed aside when he found he could no longer
hold himself in abeyance. He wanted her...
needed her... couldn't wait another moment to
have her.

He began to move, tenderly at first, gently
plumbing the depths of her womanhood. Reina was
quiescent initially, but as he continued to kiss and
fondle her, her desire sparked again. She was soon
meeting him in that most sensual and natural of
rhythms.

At her response, Clay quickened his pace, needing to reach that pinnacle of passion's dream and
wanting to take her along with him. They moved
together in love's melody, surging and ebbing, giving and taking, until the rainbow of desire's storm
burst upon them, showering them in the thrilling
ecstasy of excitement's perfect completion.

Clay and Reina lay wrapped in each other's arms,
their bodies still locked together. Neither wanted to
move or speak. They wanted to cling to the peacefilled comfort of passion's aftermath. It was a time
for tender caresses. A time for gentle quiet.

Clay's thoughts were completely befuddled as he
held Reina close. Never in his life had he known
such ecstasy. The touch of her, the scent of her, the
glory of having her completely had touched him as
he'd never been touched before. He closed his eyes, not wanting to think about it too deeply. It felt too
perfect holding her close.

Reina rested in the circle of his arms, her head
nestled on the broad width of his shoulder. Her
thoughts were pleasantly distracted and far from the
painful reality she would soon have to face. She
didn't want to dwell on anything except the contentment she was feeling at lying in his protective
embrace. A serene drowsiness soothed her, and she
drew a deep breath, then gave herself over to the
blissful oblivion of sleep.

Reina woke slowly, opening her eyes to the brilliant sunlight streaming through the window. Morning... She was just starting to stretch and roll
over when the passionate memory of the night just
passed jumped into her drowsy thoughts. Clay!
Dear God, what had she done? She stopped all
motion and turned slightly to glance at him.

The sight of her captor slumbering peacefully by
her side, looking extraordinarily handsome, unnerved her. He appeared much younger in his
sleep, the hard edge to his features easing, the
errant lock of dark hair that fell across his forehead
giving him an almost boyish look. A part of Reina
wanted to reach out and brush his hair back off his
face, but wisely she refrained. She didn't want him
to wake up just yet. She was too confused.. .too
troubled. She had to sort out her thoughts and
come to grips with what had happened.

Her gaze drifted lower, visually caressing his
wide, powerful shoulders and his strong, furred
chest. A slightly self-conscious blush pinkened her
cheeks as she remembered how wonderful it had felt
to be held close against him and how erotic the
crisp hair on his chest had felt against the sensitive
peaks of her breasts.

Reina's glance shifted even farther down the fascinating length of him. She marvelled at how lean
Clay was, for there wasn't an ounce of extra flesh
on him. He was solid, rock-hard muscle. She found
it particularly enticing that the hair covering his
chest and stomach tantalizingly narrowed just past
his waist. Her view of him was restricted from
there, because the blanket was wound around his
lower body.

It was then Reina recalled that they had fallen
asleep naked in each other's arms. Some time during the night then, he must have roused himself
enough to draw the covers over them both. An odd
feeling of tenderness filled her at the thought of his
action, and her thoughts grew even more confused.

This was Clay Cordell - her father's henchman
...her nemesis... and now her lover. Reina
wasn't sure what she felt for him. She only knew
that the moment he touched her, she melted to his
will. There was something about him, something so
compelling that she couldn't refuse him and, in fact,
didn't want to.

Reina wondered what he was feeling. She wondered if what had happened between them had been
as special for him as it was for her. She felt almost
certain that it had been. Their lovemaking had been
beautiful. She could think of no words wonderful
enough to describe it.

A smile curved her lips. Certainly, this had
changed everything between them. She suddenly
wanted to talk to him about it, to discuss her
feelings with him. She looked up, hoping to find
him awake. She was delighted to find that he was,
his silver gaze resting upon her with a piercing
intensity she could almost feel.

Clay watched her in silence. He wanted to trust
her. He longed to think that he could. Last night
had been more exciting than he'd ever dreamed it could be, but the lesson he'd learned early in life,
even now, colored his thinking. He was cautious,
judging her smile by his memories, and, in that
judgment, concluding that it was all an act. A voice
warned him that she couldn't be believed, that she
would do whatever she could to achieve her own
ends. He listened to her, his heart and mind already set against her.

"Clay..." she began hesitantly, "We have to talk.
What happened last night..."

"Was special?" Clay offered guardedly

"Oh, yes," she said. "It was wonderful, and it
changes so much between us."

When Clay had come awake to find Reina studying him intently, he'd wished for just an instant that
things could be different between them, but then
when she'd started talking and telling her lies, reality had set in. Her innocently offered words and
sweet smile jarred him, for he knew from past
experience that she didn't mean any of it. He kept
his expression inscrutable as he'd listened to her,
and then he asked in a particularly harsh voice,
"Tell me, Reina, exactly what does it change?"

She blinked in surprise at his coldness, but her
smile never wavered. "Why, everything," she said.

His eyes were totally devoid of any warmth as he
continued sarcastically, "I don't think so."

"What?"

"Look, Reina, it's not going to work. I've seen
how women like you operate."

"Women like me?" she repeated in innocence.

Clay gave a snort of disbelief at her pretense, and
he climbed out of bed. His motions were quick and
sure as he pulled on his pants. "Save it. Don't waste
your time thinking that you're going to convince me
you gave yourself to me last night out of any great
emotion. I wouldn't believe it. I know how women
use their bodies to manipulate men. If you think you can use your beautiful body to get me to set
you free, you're wrong. You're going home to your
father."

His cold, brutal statements killed any more tender emotion she'd harbored toward him, and she
berated herself for having thought things might have
changed. How could she ever have forgotten that
only hostility and mistrust existed between them!
How could she have given herself to him that way!
The fire of her fury and the power of her hatred for
him glowed heatedly in her dark eyes.

"Why would I want to convince you it was a love
match? There was certainly no love involved in it
for me," she belittled sharply.

Her words reinforced what he'd believed from the
start. It had all been an act.

"Then we both know what it was all about," Clay
said coolly, shrugging on his shirt and buttoning it.
He saw the fire of her hatred in her expression and
knew then he'd been right all along,

"You're a predator, Clay Cordell," she charged,
the anger and hurt she was feeling driving her to
strike out at him. "You were sent to find me and
take me back home, not take advantage of me at a
time when I was helpless and unprotected!"

Her words stung. She had been a virgin. Any
further guilt he might have felt was dismissed
though, for he remembered that she wanted him
just as much as he had wanted her. Clay gave a
terse laugh. "Helpless and unprotected? You? I've
never known a woman more capable of taking care
of herself."

"Damn you! I hope you rot in hell!" Reina
hissed.

"You aren't the first to wish that upon me, and
I'm sure you won't be the last," he pointed out with
a slight, mocking smile.

Tears of frustration burned her eyes, but Reina fought them back. She would not let him see how
he'd hurt her. She would never let him know that
his cold rejection this morning was even more painful to her than her father's betrayal. She left the
bed, grabbing the blanket as she went. Keeping her
back to him, she wrapped it firmly around her, and
without looking back, she moved stiffly away to
stare out the window.

In her most icy tone, she said slowly, "Stay away
from me from now on. Don't you ever touch me
again!"

"You don't have to worry, Reina. What happened
last night won't be repeated." He waited for a minute staring at her rigid back, then finished dressing
and strode from the cabin, closing the door firmly
behind him.

"Senor Luis!" Carlos, the six-year-old son of one
of the house maids, came charging full speed into
the stable in search of the ranch owner.

"He's here, Carlos!" Vicente, the head stable
man, shouted from where he and his boss were
standing near the rear of the building discussing
business. "What is so important that you must interrupt us?" he scolded as the child came running
up to them.

"My mother sent me!" the boy replied in a
breathless pant, the exertion of racing all the way
there having left him gasping for air. He totally
ignored the stablehand then and turned to the real
boss. "Senor Luis, you must come up to the main
house at once!" He took Luis' hand and tugged
nervously.

"Whoa, Carlos." Luis resisted the boy's effort to
drag him off without an explanation. "Can't you see
that I'm busy right now with Vicente? Just what is
it that you feel requires my immediate attention?"

"My mother said to find you and bring you right
away! She said to tell you that he was there!" Carlos
blurted out.

"Who is there?" he asked, excitement gripping
him as he imagined it was Cordell returning with
Reina or at least word of her whereabouts.

"An American!"

The boy's words confirmed his high hopes, and
he smiled widely in triumph. Reina would be home
soon. He just knew it. Things were going to work
out after all.

"Thank you, Carlos," Luis said happily. "Run
along back up to the house and tell your mother
that I will be there right away."

"Yes, sir." Grinning, knowing that he'd done well
in delivering the message, he darted off in the
direction of the house.

"Senor? All is well?" Vicente noticed his boss's
happiness and was pleased for his mood had been
particularly black lately.

"All is very well," Luis answered, his tone pleased.
"I will be back later to finish our discussion."

"Yes, sir."

The distance to the house had never seemed so
long to Luis as he hurried on up the path to meet
with Cordell. He had known the man would show
up sooner or later, he had just hoped it would be
sooner. It had been well over a month ago when
they'd last spoken, and he'd been waiting impatiently ever since for word from the bounty hunter
about his missing daughter.

The weeks since they'd parted had been difficult
for him. He'd been forced to lie to Nathan about
Reina's whereabouts, telling him that she'd gone to
visit an aunt who lived south of San Diego. He'd
accepted the story at face value at the time, but as
the days had turned into weeks, Luis had wondered
just how much longer he would continue to believe
it. But now, that Cordell was back, his worries were
over, providing, of course, that he'd located Reina.

Reina...thoughts of her left Luis troubled and
unsure. He loved her so, but was furious with her
for her disobedience. She had never caused him this
kind of aggravation before, and he wondered what had gotten into her. Surely, she wasn't really this
upset about marrying Marlow. The man was handsome, rich and had all the right connections. Luis
could see absolutely no reason why she would object.