Trail of Kisses (28 page)

Cade rounded on him, grabbing him by the
collar while his right still held the knife. “Who are you and why
did you attack Miss Tremaine?”

“
We know that,” Lynne said, the
breathlessness of surprise being replaced by fury. “You’re one of
the Briscoe Boys. You threatened my family. No one threatens my
family.”

“
The what?” The miner cowered as
Pete reached them.

“
I’ll see to it that you’re driven
back to St. Louis to stand trial for attempted murder.” Cade shook
the man.

The miner shouted and shriveled away from
him.

“
Hold on, Cade.” Pete came to a
stop by Cade’s side. “I’ll take that.” He plucked the knife from
Cade’s hand.

“
There has to be a marshal or some
sort of law enforcement here at the crossing,” Cade went on. “At
the very least, I want this man arrested.”

“
It was a joke!” the miner sobbed,
sinking to his knees when Cade let him go. “Just a
joke.”

“
Attempted murder is not a joke,”
Lynne said.

“
He’s not the man who tried to
kill you,” Pete said, though he sounded sorry to say it.

“
But he was caught running from
another attempt to hurt people, knife in hand,” Cade protested.
Though even now, with the first flush of anger subsiding, he was
beginning to have his doubts. Whoever was threatening Lynne was
clever. This miner looked like he couldn’t find his way out of a
pail with a torch.

“
That’s Cletus Zuber,” Pete told
them. “He’s been a thorn in my side for years.”

“
But,” Lynne sputtered.

“
He used to ride the trail with me
and take folks west until he proved himself an incompetent drunk. I
fired him last year, only to have him show up in Independence
telling me he was going to strike it rich in Colorado.”

“
I am too, yes I am,” Cletus said
through his sobs.

“
He’s no Briscoe,” Pete
finished.

Cade felt Lynne sigh and slump at his side.
“But the knife,” she said.

“
It was just a joke,” Cletus said
again, feeble this time.

“
Take him up to my wagon and make
him sit out in the rain until I figure out what to do with him,”
Pete told the other two men. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry right
now. You two had better find some place to keep warm and dry until
this storm is over,” he told Cade and Lynne, then strode off with a
scowl dark enough to give the storm a run for its money.

Cade and Lynne were left standing in the
downpour, empty-handed.

“
If that man isn’t the one who
tried to kill me,” Lynne said after a dreary pause, “then the real
killer must still be out there somewhere.”

Cade liked the sound of it coming from her
even less than he liked it coming from his own mind. She was still
in danger. Worst of all, in the rain, as she watched Pete and the
others drag Cletus off, her determination sank to uncertainty and
worry.

“
We’ll find the real
trouble-maker,” Cade assured her, reaching for her hand. It was
cold and she twined her fingers in his with a little too much
eagerness. “Come on, let’s go back to the wagon and dry off, like
Pete said.”

They walked hand in hand across the open plain
of wet grass and increasingly muddy ground to where Lynne’s wagon
stood apart. The rest of the wagon lines were still in chaos. The
tent that Cletus had slashed was a messy pile of muddy canvas on
top of a few capsized tables. Some of the men were already trying
to re-erect the tent posts, if only to have a place to lift the
canvas out of the way. Mrs. Weingarten picked through the smashed
dishes and ruined food under the tent with a stoic face while a
dozen other ladies sat nearby, weeping and sobbing for home. There
was no sign at all of Callie and John or any of the men who had
ridden off in such a hurry.

“
I’m beginning to think Pete may
have a point,” Cade said as they drew near to the wagon.

“
About what?” Lynne let go of his
hand long enough to hoist herself inside. Her dress was so sodden
and heavy that Cade had to help her.

“
This has to be the strangest
wagon train I’ve ever heard of. What on earth was that business at
the tent with the teapot and those folks riding off so fast like
that?”

“
I have no idea.” Lynne sighed and
scooted farther into the wagon as Cade climbed up behind
her.

The inside of the wagon provided better
shelter than standing around in the open, but it was not the same
as being inside a building. The canvas wagon cover had been oiled
to keep out the rain, which it did reasonably well. But it didn’t
stop the dampness from seeping through, and it didn’t truly feel
warm.

“
You’d better get out of those wet
things,” Cade told Lynne as he turned and fitted the oiled canvas
covering over the back opening of the wagon. It would give Lynne
some privacy and hopefully keep a little more of the rain out. He
shrugged out of his slicker and unbuttoned his vest.

Lynne already had her hands at her neck,
unbuttoning her blouse with a frown when he turned around. “I’m
tired of feeling so helpless,” she said in a small
voice.

“
I know the feeling.” He finished
with his vest and sat back to pull off his soaked boots, putting
them in a corner.

There was a pause with nothing but the sound
of the rain pattering on the canvas above them before she said,
“I’ve felt helpless my whole life.”

Cade stopped halfway through pulling off his
wet socks. “You? Lynne Tremaine, scourge of the Oregon
Trail?”

Her frown melted into a weary half smile as
she finished with the buttons of her blouse and shrugged out of it.
“The only way to combat that helpless feeling is to stare it
straight in the eyes and refuse to admit that you’re afraid. But
it’s only a ploy. I’m afraid all the time.”

The way she lowered her head, heavy with
defeat and sadness, was like a kick in Cade’s gut. This whole time
he’d been working to protect her when really she was capable of
protecting herself. It hurt to see her full of doubt now. He’d
never known anyone with more courage and determination than
Lynne.

“
Being brave is about more than
not being afraid,” he said, finishing with his socks and scooting
closer to her.

She had removed her wet blouse and set it
aside and was reaching for the fastenings of her skirt, but he
stopped her and took her hands. She blinked and met his eyes,
anxious and questioning.

“
Being brave is about being
afraid, but pushing forward in spite of that fear. I’ve seen you do
that every day since Independence.”

She gave his hands a squeeze but lowered her
eyes. “I thought I was doing a good job of hiding my fear. From you
and from everyone.”

“
You don’t need to hide it from
me.” He scooted closer still. “You don’t need to hide anything from
me.”

Her lashes fluttered and she glanced up at
him. “I know. I never would have guessed it, but you’re the only
person who I’ve ever trusted with how I really feel.”

A smile touched his lips and warmth pulsed
through him in spite of the chill of the rain. The pressure of her
hands in his, the way she looked straight in his eyes without
flinching in spite of the fact that there was still worry there,
were all the proof he needed that he had done his job. He had kept
her safe.

He leaned toward her, bringing his lips to
hers. She let him kiss her with a soft sigh, her lips parted. He’d
only intended to kiss her gently, but that tiny sign of acceptance
opened a new world of need and emotion in his chest. He let go of
her hands and reached for her waist, pulling her toward him, wet
skirt and all. She slid her arms around his neck as he kissed her
more deeply, tongues touching, heart swelling. She felt so perfect
in his arms that he never wanted to let her go.

She moved one of her hands to cradle the side
of his face, kissing him then rocking gently back. “Were you going
to ask me something earlier?” she asked, her eyes bright with
mischief.

A thrill squeezed his chest so hard that for a
moment his breath caught in his lungs. “In fact, I was.”

“
Oh?” She feigned innocent,
batting her eyelashes. She could only ever feign innocence. Lynne
Tremaine was the most clever, bold woman he had ever known or ever
hoped to know, and how he loved her for it.

“
I was wondering if you might
happen to want to spend the rest of your days with me,” he
said.

“
On the trail?” she asked, leaning
in to steal a kiss.

“
No, ma’am,” he replied in
imitation of Ben.

“
Hunting would-be murderers?” She
kissed him again, longer and harder this time.

“
Not that either,” he answered,
his voice rougher as heat rose through him.

“
Attending spoiled tea parties?”
Her kiss was long and lingering this time. She raked her fingers
through his hair and pressed herself against him as much as she
could in their awkward position.

“
Definitely not attending spoiled
tea parties,” Cade growled. He spread a hand across the stiffness
of her corset, reaching up toward her breast. Damn the rain and the
rest of the wagon train and the danger all around them, all he
wanted was her.

He shifted with her in his arms, laying her
back against the wagon bed and covering her body with his. It was
cramped and soggy, but his desire for her flamed all the same. She
sighed and reached for the buttons of his shirt, fumbling to undo
the top few through the damp fabric.

“
Then how do you want me to spend
the rest of my days with you?” she asked.

She was breathing fast, the tops of her
breasts straining against her corset and wet chemise. He bent down
to kiss her, then moved down to rain kisses across the swell of her
breasts. It wasn’t enough. He wanted much more. He scooped a hand
under her corset and drew out one breast as much as he could,
kissing and sucking on her already puckered nipple.

“
Cade,” she sighed, writhing
beneath him.

“
I want you,” he replied, then
went back to teasing her nipple with his tongue.

She let out a breath with a sigh, spreading
her arms to the side. “For the rest of your life?” she
asked.

“
Yes.” He left her breast and
licked his way up her neck to meet her lips once more. His kiss
pulled a moan from her that had him rock hard in moments.
“Forever.”

He balanced himself with his knees on either
side of her and shrugged out of his suspenders, tugging his shirt
up over his head. She watched with sparkling eyes, her mouth half
opened, thrusting her hips up so that she could undo the fastenings
at the back of her skirt. Everything about her was wild and wanton
and bold. Let the others turn up their noses and call the two of
them disreputable. Some things in life were more precious than the
standards of society.

When he reached for the buttons on his pants,
Lynne pushed herself to sit. She batted his hands away from his
trousers and took over unbuttoning them with eager, searching
movements. Each brush of her fingers against his full and throbbing
manhood, fabric or no fabric between them, shot bolts of pure
desire through him. He gasped when she loosened his pants and
pushed them down over his hips, freeing his staff to stand
erect.

“
I love the way you look,” she
said, taking him in her hands and stroking him. It was so good, he
couldn’t contain the groan that rumbled through his chest. “I love
the way you feel.”

“
I love you,” he answered, hoarse
and rough.

He reached for her, cupping her face in his
hands and lowering to kiss her with all the fire and fury born of
the delicious caress of her hands on him. If he could have held
out, he would have wanted her to tease and stroke him like that
forever, but sweeter treasures awaited.

“
Lynne,” he said, leaving her lips
to plant feather-light kisses across her cheeks and nose. “Say
you’ll be mine, forever.”

Her hands left his staff to spread across his
abdomen. She slid them up across the tense muscles of his sides to
his chest, right over his beating heart. It wasn’t enough, though.
She broke from him long enough to switch from sitting to kneeling
before him, pushing her damp skirt and petticoat off and tossing
them aside in the process. When she was done, she leaned into him,
her mouth capturing his with all the power of the rain outside. She
circled her greedy hands around his back, smoothing them down
across his backside and squeezing. She was as brazen as they came
and he responded with passion that made his head spin.

“
Say you’ll never leave me,” she
panted against his lips. “Say you’ll protect me our whole lives, in
every way.”

“
Every
way,” he promised.
“Every day. I love you, Lynne.”

“
And I love you, Cade,” she
sighed.

She tightened her arms around him, pressing
her body into his and kissing him for all she was worth. Nothing
had ever felt so good or so right in Cade’s life. He caressed her
backside, pressing her hips into his and grinding. The friction of
her body as he rubbed against her, imitating what he planned to do
once he was inside of her, was enough to make him lose his mind. It
was almost heaven. Almost.