Wayward Wind (23 page)

It was a moment he’d never forget. Sitting upright in the soft grass, with this sweet woman astride his lap, he savored the
feel of it. His heart thundered against hers and the hands on her hips pressed her soft belly against his hard one. She clung
to him, her arms around his neck, her legs bent back, her knees in the soft grass.

“Cooper?” There was uncertainty in her voice and she began to kiss his face frantically.

“Don’t you… know?”

“Know what?” She pressed her nose against his cheek and rolled her face back and forth in an agony of need.

“There’s a skin there. I’ll have to break it.”

“Is that all that’s wrong?”

“All women have it until they’ve been with a man.”

“Oh, I thought there was somethin’ wrong with
me
.”

“Darling girl…”

“Tell me what to do.”

“Ahh…” The sound came from deep in his throat as she lowered herself to impale herself more completely. He probed urgently,
turning this way and that. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, there was a pain-pleasure so intense that she cried out his name.
She clung to him, heedless of the pain now, aware only of that thrusting, pulsing rhythm increasing unbearably to a tempo
that brought her higher… higher. She wanted what they were reaching for and quivered with expectation. She was speared on
a pinnacle of pain and ecstasy. Cooper’s body jerked repeatedly and she was flooded with a healing warmth. From somewhere
in the blaze, she heard a soft, triumphant, “Oh, God!”

Lorna came languidly back to reality and found her hands clasping Cooper’s head to her breast, her face in his hair. He was
still huge and deep inside her, but the waves of frenzied pleasure that had ripped through her were subsiding. In their place
swelled a burning desire to comfort him. She caressed his back and shoulders and stroked his damp hair back from his forehead.

Holding him, Lorna looked up at the stars, thinking that they had never seemed so big nor so brilliant. He turned his face
to her breast and his mouth moved against her.

“You… tie me in knots.” He flexed his hips and she felt it in the center of her being.

“Cooper…” His name was a caress on her lips. All the adoration she had saved was given to him now. She murmured his name
as her lips glided over straight brows, short thick eyelashes, cheeks rough with stubble, and to his waiting mouth. It was
glorious to feel this freedom to love and caress him.

“Oh, sweetheart! Be still…” he breathed in gasps when she began to move on the spear that pierced her. Then he grasped her
hips and moved them urgently in a circular motion, being careful to not press too deeply inside her. “Sweetheart!” he whispered
helplessly, and with a long breath he thrust at her full force with frenzied urgency. She felt the warm flow of his release
and held him shuddering in her arms.

Feeling wonderfully loved and relaxed, Lorna allowed him to lift her from his lap and pull her skirts down over her legs.
He lay down with her in the soft grass and cuddled her in his arms. Almost instantly she was asleep.

Cooper lay staring up at the stars. Slowly his thoughts assembled and sorted themselves out. His intentions had been to talk
to Lorna, hold her, and… maybe kiss her. What man in his right mind
wouldn’t
want to hold her? he reasoned. He hadn’t meant for a few kisses to lead to the intimate, soul-stirring, gut-stomping experience
they’d just shared. He admitted, reluctantly, that the idea of being with her in just that way had crossed his mind. Every
night since he’d met her he’d fantasized about holding her, warm and naked, in his arms. He was a man with strong hungers,
and he’d occasionally had them satisfied by women who made it their business to dull the ache that sometimes tore at his groin.
But none of the experiences he’d had, not even with the most expensive whore in Denver, could come close to what this little
mountain sprite had given him. She’d given herself openly, completely, and the thought of parting from her in the morning
gave him an acute feeling of despair.

Here’s a woman he could share his life and his heart with, he thought, even though, at times, she was so irritating he wanted
to shake her. Living with this fairylike creature would never be dull. The thought brought a silent chuckle that shook his
large frame when he recalled talk he’d heard about physical love being distasteful to so-called
refined
women. Aroused to full womanhood, this wild child had taken an uninhibited pleasure in their mating. She’d certainly make
the long, winter nights something to look forward to. The corners of his wide mouth lifted; he pressed it to her forehead,
tasted the clean sweetness of her flesh, and snuggled her small body closer into the hollow of his.

Lorna lay soft and warm against him, her breasts pressed tightly to his chest. He felt an almost overwhelming desire to feel
the softness of those young, firm breasts against his naked flesh, but he fought down his desire and lay quietly, hoping the
pounding of his heart wouldn’t awaken her.

The ribbon that had held her hair to the back of her head had come loose and the silky, dark curls lay in a tangle over her
shoulders. A wave of tenderness washed over him as he felt the yellowed shirt beneath his palm, and smoothed the faded black
skirt down over her hips. He’d known the moment he’d seen her in them that they were the only female garments she owned and
that she’d dressed herself in them to please him. She’d lived on this mountain all her life, he mused, and since her granny
died five years ago, she’d not had the company of a woman until Bonnie. It was no wonder she’d been so protective of the girl.

He’d take her home with him, Cooper told himself. He’d wed her, and they’d have the strong, beautiful children she said they’d
have. Then a thought struck him with the force of a sledgehammer. Oh, dear God! He emptied himself in her not once, but twice!
He may have already planted a seed in her body that would grow to be his son. The guilt he felt as a child for having disgraced
his mother by being born came rushing back painfully. That settled it! he thought with grim determination. They’d ride directly
to Junction City and get married. No offspring of his would ever be called bastard and grow up to despise him the way he despised
Adam Clayhill!

In the quietness of the night, Cooper reflected on his life up to this point. He realized that it would be changed from this
time on. Lorna had been unexpected. He’d dreamed of meeting a woman someday who would walk beside him, but it was always in
the future when he had a secure life to offer her. He was a man with a lot of hopes and few illusions. He had a clear and
definite idea of the way he wanted to live. He wanted to work his ranch, saddle his own horses, fight his own battles, and
walk his own trail. Oscar Parnell had worked hard for the money they paid down on the ranch and anyone who tried to pry him
loose from that ranch would have a fight on his hands.

Lorna, he realized with sudden certainty, had dreams of her own. The story of Light and Maggie had caught her romantic imagination
and she dreamed of reliving their lives right here on Light’s Mountain. He had been aware of it almost from the first. Her
numerous references to her grandparents, and the way she had watched him when they were approaching the homestead told him
how anxious she was that he be favorably impressed.

Lorna was due a rude awakening. No man worth his salt would be satisfied to settle in here and try to live up to the legend
of Light and Maggie Lightbody. Perhaps that had been her father’s downfall. The man was soured on life. He had no hopes or
dreams. A man needed a plan, needed direction. If he didn’t have that, he had nothing.

When the birds began to stir in the branches above his head, Cooper knew dawn was not far away He rose up on his elbow and
peered down into the face of the woman pressed so tightly against him. He was reluctant to awaken her. He had never held a
sleeping woman in his arms. It was pleasant to feel her small body against his, depending on him for warmth and protection

A rush of blood through his veins spread an unwanted arousal through his body. For a long while he hung over her, looking
at her. Reason dissolved the hunger that gnawed at him. Her body would be sore, her private parts tender from his intrusion.
There would be other times. She was his… now. Her violet-blue eyes, her lips with the three-cornered smile, her small round
breasts and slim, tight body… all his. She fit perfectly against him, as if she had been made to be tucked beneath his heart.
He felt he knew her as he had never known anyone before. He knew her mind, her soul her spirit, her secret place. She had
never known the touch of another man. He alone had possessed her. The thought at first awed him, then sent another quiver
of desire through him. He pressed his nose against her cheek to smell the freshness of her skin and stroked her hair back
from her face, then tenderly kissed her forehead time and again.

“Wake up, pretty girl,” he whispered as he shook her gently. “It’ll be daylight soon.”

“I’m awake,” she murmured, but didn’t open her eyes.

“You were playing possum,” he accused.

“Uh huh. I liked what you were doing when you thought I was asleep.” Her warm breath hit his face with small puffs and he
knew she was laughing silently. She was like a little girl in a fully bloomed woman’s body. Her arms slipped around his neck,
her fingers cupped over his ears. “Brrr your ears are cold. I’ll kiss them and get them warm.”

“You’ll get to the house is what you’ll do,” he said gruffly. “Your pa will be out looking for you.”

“I don’t want to go to the house. I want to stay here and kiss you.” She reached for his lips and placed hers firmly against
them. He kissed her back, slowly, sharing a moment of sweetness with her.

When at last he lifted his head, he looked down at the pale luminous oval of her face framed in the mass of tumbled, dark
hair that was soft and shining in his fingers. Her smile was pure enchantment and he said the first thing that came to his
mind.

“Your eyes have lights in the dark. Did you know that?”

“Like a cat’s eyes?”

“I’ve heard tell of blue-eyed housecats.”

“I feel wonderful!” She stretched herself to her full length and snuggled against him. “We mated, didn’t we, my love? It was
grand! Do you think we made a baby?” Her frankness left him speechless, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Bonnie said it was
hurtful and she hated doing it, but she’d only done it with Brice. One time he sent her off to meet Billy, but I found them
and lashed Billy’s butt with my whip. Now it’s funny to think of him running into the brush with his pants down, but it wasn’t
funny then. Oh, poor Bonnie. Sometime I’ll have to tell her how grand it is doing it with the man you love. It was like flying,
Cooper. There wasn’t anyone in the whole world, but you—”

“You talk too much.”

“You know how to shut me up.”

“And I know what it will lead to.” Cooper pulled his arms free, got to his feet, and pulled her up beside him. “We’ve got
things to do before we leave this morning and we’d better get to doing them. You can take what we can pack behind our saddles
unless your pa will give us the loan of a packhorse.”

Lorna looked up at him, her smile replaced by a puzzled frown. “What are you saying, Cooper?”

“I’m saying, little feather-head, that we’re leaving here and heading for the preacher in Junction City.”

“Now? I can’t leave here now,” she sputtered. “I’ve been gone too long as it is. I’ve got to dig the potatoes, pick the beans—I’ve
got to see what Frank’s up to. If he goes, there’ll be nobody here to look after things and the place could be wrecked by
the time we get back.”

“We’re not coming back, Lorna, except for a visit,” he said slowly and plainly so she didn’t misunderstand. “And I’ll not
be able to bring you back for a good long while. I’ve got business to tend to. We’ll get married and get you settled in at
my ranch. You’ll like my mother and she’ll love you.”

Lorna looked as if he had struck her. “I… but, I’m not.” She began to shake her head vigorously. “I’m not going to live on
your ranch.
This
is my home!”

“It
was
your home, sweetheart. When we marry, you’ll make your home with me.” His hands came out and grasped her shoulders. In the
dim light he could see the stricken look on her face and he was sorry to hurt her, but it was best she understand, right from
the start, how things were going to be.

“Cooper!” She tried to wrap her arms about his waist, but he held her from him so he could look into her face. “There’s everything
here
a man would want. It will all be yours!”

“Now, what are you saying, Lorna? Spell it out. Let’s put our cards on the table.”

“I’m saying that this land is clear, the grass and water good—the cabin is the best in these mountains. You can do everything
here you can do down on the flatlands. This can be yours, Cooper, all yours.”

Cooper looked at her for a long moment before he spoke.

“Usually when a woman marries she leaves home and makes one for her man. What about your pa, Lorna? Wouldn’t he feel like
he’s being crowded out?”

“He doesn’t want it. He hates Light’s Mountain.”

“I don’t want it either, sweetheart,” he said gently to soften his words. “Have you ever wondered why your pa hates it here?”

“He just… hates mountains! He wants to go west to the ocean.”

“That’s what he says,” Cooper said patiently. “But my guess is he hates it because it’s not
his
place and he feels like an interloper here, as I would.”

“It can’t be
his
place! He’s not a Lightbody,” Lorna said as if suddenly out of patience with the senseless exchange.

“And
you
are. Is that it?”

“Of course I am. But—”

“But what? But your Lightbody blood makes this place more yours than his, despite the fact he married your mother and he’s
your pa? You said he’d been here for more than twenty years. Don’t all the work and sweat he’s put into this place amount
to something?”