Beneath Passion's Skies

by Bobbi Smith

  “Sit still,” Blade commanded as he sat down next to her. In a bold move, without even bothering to ask, he lifted Angel’s legs across his lap and pushed her riding-skirt above her knees. It was an intimate position, and he felt her tense as he began massaging the lotion into her taut calf with the same precision he’d used on her neck and shoulders the night before. “Easy,” he said. “It’ll only hurt for another minute.”

  His voice was soothing and calming, but there was nothing soothing or calming about the way her body responded to his touch. When his fingers slipped to the sensitive area behind her knee, Angel almost threw herself out of his reach. It took enormous self-control to withstand his continuing assault on her senses.

  Angel tried to look anywhere but at Blade. She stared first at the forest around them and then out at the river nearby, but again and again her gaze was drawn back to him. Studying his profile, she committed to memory the strength and ruggedness of his features.

  “Is it gone?” Blade asked, interrupting her thoughts as he stopped his massage. He glanced up at her, but she’d already forced herself to look away.

  “I think so,” she answered, cautiously rotating her ankle to test it, “but it’s still sore.”

  “It’ll probably feel almost like a bruise for a while,” Blade advised. Gently, starting with her foot, he gave her entire leg a slow, thorough rubdown.

  Angel had never thought of her legs as a particularly sensual part of her body before. As Blade’s practiced touch inched ever higher to her knee and above, shivers of delight coursed through her. When he brushed her skirt out of the way so he could have access to her thigh, her blood quickened. She told herself he was doing this only so they could continue on schedule to California, but logic didn’t stop the uncontrollable feelings flooding through her.

  Blade had worked on her leg without looking up, but when his hands skimmed the firm flesh of her slender thigh, he could not resist a cautious glimpse. Angel’s attention was focused on him, her eyes darkened with the turmoil of emotion, her cheeks flushed, and her lips moist and slightly parted. Only Lucky’s presence kept Blade from embracing her. Abruptly, he lowered her skirt and switched his ministrations to her other leg.

  “Lucky, hand me the bottle again, will you?”

  “Sure, Blade. Aren’t you almost done? I’m awful hungry.” Young and innocent, the boy remained unaware of the sensual tension between Blade and Angel.

  “We’ll be done here in no time.”

  “You can stop now if you want,” Angel spoke, but could find no semblance of intelligent thought in her mind. All she could think of was how wonderful his hands felt. She warned herself that Blade was a man who sold himself to the highest bidder and that it might prove a fatal mistake for her to trust him too much.

  “I always finish what I start,” Blade stated firmly, kneading her other leg. This time, however, he stopped just above the knee. “That should take care of you for tonight.”

  “Thanks.” Angel quickly slipped her legs from his lap and pushed her skirt back down.

  “Why don’t you stand up and see how you feel? If your legs are still too sore, we can camp here an extra day.”

  “No,” she answered quickly, not willing to lose a full day of travel. “I’m sure I’m all right.”

  Lucky gave Angel a hand, and she accepted his help gratefully. She moved gingerly, testing and stretching. Though she still ached, she could walk.

  “See, I’m fine. There’s no need for us to fall behind schedule. I’ll be ready to ride in the morning.” She looked straight at Blade and added in a measure that was pure self-defense, “Christopher’s waiting for me. I have to get to him.”

  Blade’s expression hardened at the mention of her fiancé. “Whatever you say, ma’am,” he responded tightly. “You’re the boss.” He turned away from the tempting sight of her as she stood before him barefoot and beautiful.

  Blade awoke suddenly in the middle of the night and reached instinctively for his gun. Something—he didn’t know what—had disturbed his rest. Rolling to his side, he checked Angela and Lucky’s rolls. The fire had burned low, but he could still see well enough to determine immediately that, while the boy lay curled in a tight ball and sound asleep, Angela was missing.

  Rising soundlessly, Blade peered into the darkness. Tracking and hunting lessons learned in his youth quickly revealed her trail. He paused. With no sign of a struggle or trouble, perhaps she was tending to personal needs and required privacy. But when Angel hadn’t returned after a reasonable time, Blade followed her down to the riverbank. Whatever her reason for wandering alone late at night, he intended to make certain she would never do it again. Danger could be lurking anywhere, and it always paid to be cautious.

  Angel had not been able to sleep. After several hours haunted by her reaction to Blade, she’d given up and left camp to get away from the sight of the handsome gunman across the fire from her.

  Aided by moonlight, Angel made her way to the river’s edge and found a small cleared place to sit. Confusion filled her. She’d only known Blade for three days—three days!—and yet his very presence affected her, addled her. He was attractive, but she knew other equally attractive men. Michael, as much as she hated him, was good looking, but the thought of his hands upon her filled Angel with revulsion. Thoughts of Blade, however, stirred a deep and primitive hunger in her soul. It was that untamed appetite that had left her tossing and turning through the night.

  Angel cast a small twig into the river. As the current caught it and spun it downstream with ever increasing speed, she felt an affinity with the broken bough. She was separated from her roots and her home, adrift on a perilous journey.

  In the darkness, Angel’s legendary courage deserted her. Her eyes filled with tears, and she felt sorry for herself. She wanted someone to trust, someone she could lean on, someone who would take her weighty troubles from her shoulders and resolve them for her. But there was no one. Blade’s loyalty was purchased. If Michael’s men caught up with them, he might switch sides if they offered him a better deal. She was alone.

  In that bleak moment, Angel felt a kinship with Elizabeth; and, with that understanding, her spirit returned. Scared though she was, she would prevail. She would foil Michael at every turn and keep Christopher safe from harm.

  “Angela?”

  Blade’s voice startled Angel, and she jumped up to find him only a few feet behind her. How could he have come so close without her hearing him?

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, fighting the physical attraction between them. Her heart pounded in her breast because he was near. It was ridiculous; she was no better than an animal in heat, but it didn’t quell the excitement that filled her.

  “It’s not safe out here at night, Angela. You’re vulnerable alone.”

  “But there’s no one around.” She spoke softly, mesmerized by the way the moonlight softened his features.

  “Things can happen in the wilderness.” Blade thought her the most lovely woman he’d ever seen. She was as innocent and beautiful as she was fiery and defiant. Desire flamed within him, and he lifted one hand to stroke her cheek.

  Angel longed to lean into his caress, to step closer to him. She savored the sweetness of his touch, imagining herself in his arms again. She wanted to know the ecstasy of his kiss.

  “Ah, Angel!” Blade’s voice was barely a whisper as he used her nickname for the first time. Touching her was heavenly for him. He saw the bewildered surrender in her eyes and knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. There was no turning back. He bent to her, seeking her lips with his own in a tentative encounter. The soft exploration unexpectedly exploded into something far more powerful and wonderful than either of them had ever imagined possible. Wrapping her in his arms, he brought her fully against him as his mouth burned over hers. His embrace was powerful and potent. From breast to hip, they were molded as one—she, infinitely soft; he, hard and male.

  Angel was enraptured. She’d been
kissed before, but not by Blade Masters. Never like this. She wanted to stay in his arms forever. She wanted to kiss him again and again.

  Fortunately, what little sense she had left, held. A distant warning rang through her. Perplexed by the potent effect he had on her and frustrated by her inability to defend against it, Angel stiffened and broke off the kiss. She retreated a step backward.

  “Angel?”

  “You’re right about it being dangerous out here, Blade. Lucky’s alone. We’d better get back.” She didn’t trust herself to look at him again.

  “It wasn’t Lucky I was thinking of,” he told her in a deep, velvet voice that sent shivers down her spine.

  “I know.” Angel stopped and glanced back at him, her expression cautious and wary.

  “What are you running from, Angel?”

  “It’s not what I’m running from. It’s whom I’m running to,” she told him, drawing on her pride for the strength to deny her desire for him. She had to keep it strictly business between them. There was too much at stake. “I have to go back.” She walked away. It was one of the most difficult things she’d ever done.

  This time Blade didn’t try to stop her. He watched her go, and in that moment he both hated and envied her Christopher. After a while, he followed her back to camp.

  The days that followed developed into a quiet routine as Angel strove to keep a polite but firm distance between her and Blade. As he’d predicted, her aches and pains had peaked that second night, and she was glad. The last thing she wanted was any further physical contact with Blade Masters. They passed the hours, cordial but cool, while Lucky kept things from getting too awkward with his constant, inquisitive conversation.

  They crossed the Mississippi by ferry and began to head northwest toward Texas along the Red River. The roads went from bad to worse to nonexistent, and they progressed accordingly. Thankfully the weather cooperated. Roads that would have been little more than swamps in times of rain were passable. By the end of the first week, Angel and Lucky had adapted to the long hours in the saddle and were growing more adept at handling their mounts.

  The eighth day out was particularly hot, humid, and miserable. The road, a gracious description for the narrow, overgrown path, proved difficult and took its toll on man and beast alike. Even though it was only mid-afternoon when they came upon the small, inviting lake, they decided to stop for the day.

  “Me and Blade’s going swimming!” Lucky announced with glee as he ran to speak to Angel once his work was done.

  “Blade and I are,” Angel corrected.

  “You’re going, too?” Lucky completely missed her reference. “Oh, good. We’ll have fun!”

  “No, I’m can’t go swimming with you,” she laughed. “I was correcting your English.”

  “Oh.” He looked crestfallen. “Why can’t you? We’d have lots of fun.”

  “I can’t because it wouldn’t be proper.”

  “Who cares about proper when it’s this hot?”

  Angel smiled at his disregard for convention. “I might get in after you and Blade are done. It would feel good to take a bath.”

  “A bath?” He pulled a face.

  “Yes, and, come to think of it, it wouldn’t hurt you to come in close contact with some soap while you’re out there having fun.”

  “I don’t see what difference it makes. We’re only going to get hot again tomorrow.”

  “Do it for me,” she coaxed with a grin as she dug through one of their bags for the cake of soap she’d brought along. She held it out to him. “Have fun.”

  “Won’t you at least come down to the lake and watch us?” he invited as he took the soap.

  “All right. I’ll be along in a minute.”

  He flashed her a big, light-hearted grin and dashed off to join Blade, who was already sitting on the bank pulling off his boots.

  Angel waited until they were both in the water and then made her way to the bank and sat down to watch. Lucky was floating on his back relatively close in. She spotted Blade farther out where it was deep, treading water. When he saw her, he started to swim back to the shore with long, powerful strokes. Angel watched him come, his body boldly slicing through the water.

  “Hey Angel! Watch this!”

  Lucky’s call distracted her, and she glanced in his direction to watch him at play in the shallows. His childish antics captured her attention and had her laughing in delight.

  “Sure you don’t want to come in?” the boy invited.

  “No thanks.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Blade’s voice vibrated through her, and Angel looked over in surprise to find him standing just a few feet from shore in waist deep water. His naked chest was tanned to a deep bronze, lightly furred with hair. She’d been aware of his strong shoulders, but seeing them now, water-sleeked and corded with thick muscle, sent ripples of excitement through her. Angel wanted to run her hands across the sculpted hardness of his chest and arms. The memory of their kiss singed her thoughts and she quickly extinguished the teasing recollection. That kiss had been a mistake, and staring at him now was a mistake, too.

  “No. No, I don’t think I should,” she refused.

  “We promise not to splash you too much,” Blade teased taking a step in her direction and moving into shallower water.

  “No. You two go ahead and have your fun,” she answered, tearing her eyes away from him for fear of what his next step would reveal. “I’ll stay here and watch.”

  Blade saw her nervousness and chuckled softly as he took another step. “That’s no fun.”

  “Oh, yes. It is.” Angel’s gaze was frantic as she tried to avoid looking at him. It was only then that she saw his pile of discarded clothing nearby and noted, to her relief, that he had left no pants on the bank. She fought to regain her composure as she turned back to him, thinking it safe to look. He stood in thigh-deep water now, but his trousers, wet and clinging, rode seductively low on his hips. “I’m quite comfortable,” she told him, trying not to gape. She hadn’t seen any men dressed—or rather undressed—this way, but she was certain that Blade had to be a magnificent specimen of manhood.

  “You look awfully hot,” Blade went on, giving her no peace. “Don’t you think she looks hot, Lucky?”

  “Very!” The boy immediately began to splash in her direction, deliberately trying to get her wet.

  Angel had not really expected them to splash her, and she let out a girlish squeal of dismay and surprise as the cold water hit her.

  “Come on, Blade, help me!” Lucky cried out, and he was thrilled when Blade joined in, dousing her. “Angel, come swimming! You’re already wet! You might as well get in!”

  “Two on one’s no fair! I’m going to get even with both of you! Little boy, you’d better hope your name holds true!!” Soaked, Angel threw off her boots and socks as fast as she could and, forgetting her leather skirt, charged into the water to claim her revenge.

  It had been years since Angel had played in water. As children, they’d often gone to a friend’s farm in the country and played in a creek there. Elizabeth and Sarah had always ganged up on her, so she’d learned early how to fight. She was used to being outnumbered, and she attacked her assailants now with the same fierce resolve that had left her victorious with her sisters.

  Thrashing her arms in the water, Angel sent up a defensive shield that caught them both full in the face. This was war, and she was going to win! Fighting her way through the water, she went after Lucky first. She let out a whoop of triumphant glee when in his laughing effort to escape her, he lost his footing and fell, dunking himself.

  “Gotcha!!” Angel exclaimed.

  He came up sputtering to find that Angel had already turned her attention to Blade who’d wisely moved out to deeper water.

  “Now, it’s your turn,” she threatened in mock anger as she made her way toward him, the weight of her skirt hindering her movements.

  “You’d better quit while you’re ahead, Angel,” Blade wa
rned, backing still farther away. Though his words were meant to discourage her, they had no such effect; and he couldn’t help but smile at her feisty refusal to give up gracefully.

  “You’re the one who’s afraid! You’re the one in retreat,” she pointed out with smug superiority as she continued her pursuit, ignoring the ever-threatening drag of her clothes. She realized as she trudged through the water that Blade and Lucky had had the right idea, stripping down to next to nothing as they had. She thought it a shame that girls were always forced to go swimming with practically all their clothes on.

  “I’m not retreating. I’m being smart. You can’t splash me if you have to swim to get to me,” he told her as he reached the drop off in the lake’s bottom and started to swim away.

  “You can’t get away from me. I’m going to get you just like I did Lucky.” Angel knew he was bigger and stronger than she was and that an outright chase would leave her the obvious loser. She was going to have to rely on deviousness to outmaneuver him. Slowing her pace, she felt along the muddy bottom searching for the place where the lake bottom dropped away. When she reached it, she deliberately went under, throwing her arms up as if she were in trouble.

  “Blade! Angel disappeared!” Lucky shouted, suddenly afraid.

  Blade watched for a minute, expecting her to surface right away. When she didn’t, his amusement turned to concern.

  “Stay where you are,” he ordered Lucky. “I’ll find her.” He broke into a fast stroke and knifed through the water to the area where she’d gone under.

  Angel had been holding her breath as she stayed close to the bottom waiting for Blade to come looking for her. It wasn’t easy to see in the murky water, but when he dived, she was ready. Pushing off, she broke the surface, took a deep breath, and then, with an exultant laugh, dived after him. She grabbed his ankle as he felt his way along the bottom.