In Close Pursuit

by Colleen French

  Jessica took another step back. She and Adam would need the rifles and saddlebags that were in Crooked Nose's tent. She bumped into a bare chest and swung around. It was the Ute with the red-haired scalps decorating his belt.

  He snatched her arm. His smile revealed jagged teeth and red receding gums. His breath reeked of whiskey.

  "Let go of me!" She tried to twist from his grasp, but he held tight.

  He hit his chest with his hand, then pulled her along.

  "No! No!" She shook her head vigorously. "I won't go with you."

  He said something in his native tongue, then began to drag her.

  Suddenly Jessica realized he was kidnapping her . . . from Crooked Nose, from Adam. She knocked him in the ear with her fist, but it only bounced off his skull. She dug her heels into the ground, screaming, but no one heard her. The Utes were too busy making a racket. Adam and Crooked Nose still wrestled on the ground beating each other to a pulp.

  "Goddamn it, I'm sick to death of men hauling me around!" she shouted, dragging her feet. "I'm not going with you!"

  The Ute grasped her by the waist and tried to fling her over his shoulder. "Wife," he said in barely comprehendible English.

  "The hell I am!" She lifted her knee just as he swung her over his shoulder, hitting him in the jaw. The Ute stumbled, lost his balance, and tumbled to the ground with Jessica still in his arms. The minute she hit the dirt, she scrambled away, shoving the doeskin dress down over her bare buttocks.

  The Ute caught her boot and Jessica screamed, pounding the ground as he pulled her toward him. "Adam!"

  Adam jerked his head in the direction of her piercing scream. Crooked Nose rolled free of Adam and gave him a kick in the ribs, rolling him into the pit. Adam crashed through the wooden wall the Utes had built and disappeared into the earth.

  Crooked Nose bounded to his feet and sprinted across the camp. He hollered to one of his men, but it was obvious they intended to give him no aid. They were enjoying themselves all too much.

  The Ute with the red scalps leaped up and ran for the horse herd, dragging Jessica, who was kicking and screaming. The Kiowa shouted for him to halt.

  Jessica glanced over her shoulder to see Crooked Nose headed straight for them and gaining on them. He passed the Ute, holding out a knife clutched in his hand. The Ute ducked, but too late. Crooked Nose buried the knife to the hilt into the brave's back.

  Jessica ran. The Ute fell, dead before he hit the ground. Crooked Nose veered right, straight into her path. He grasped her by the waist and whistled. A horse burst through the herd. The Kiowa lifted Jessica, tossing her onto the animal's bare back, and mounted behind her.

  "Adam!" Jessica screamed. Was he dead? She twisted, scanning the camp. He was nowhere.

  Then she saw him running toward her.

  Crooked Nose sank his heels into his horse's flanks. The herd began to move.

  Adam mounted the first horse he came to on the fringe of the herd. Without a bridle he had to guide the animal with pressure from his knees, but the horse responded.

  Adam gave an ear-rattling whoop and the herd broke into a run. Rapidly he gained on Crooked Nose and Jessica, their horse slowed by carrying two riders.

  "Free her!" Adam shouted.

  "She's mine!" Crooked Nose bellowed in Jessica's ear.

  All she could do was hang onto the horse's mane for dear life. If she fell, she knew she'd be trampled.

  Adam rode up beside them and swung a heavy fist, slamming Crooked Nose in the jaw. The brave rocked under the impact, but held tightly to Jessica's waist.

  Jessica screamed, her own voice echoing in her ears.

  Adam hit Crooked Nose again. The Kiowa swung back, but Adam easily dodged his blow.

  "Your hand!" Adam shouted. "Give me your hand!"

  Jessica stared at his hand for a moment. Though the horses rode side by side, there was still a good foot and a half between them.

  Crooked Nose attempted to turn his horse but he'd lost control in the stampeding herd.

  "Your hand!" Adam shouted again.

  Jessica reached for Adam. Crooked Nose brought his fist down on her forearm, but he was so off balance, that his blow was weak. She felt Adam's fingers tighten around hers.

  "Trust me!" he shouted.

  "No! She's mine. Jess-i-ca is mine!" Crooked Nose screamed as Adam lifted her off the horse.

  Jessica was petrified as she felt herself being pulled off Crooked Nose's horse. The thunderous sound of the herd's hoofbeats pounded in her ears. She knew she was going to fall. She knew she was going to be trampled.

  In desperation, Crooked Nose grasped her legs.

  Adam pulled Jessica across the chasm between the two horses, dropping her into his lap.

  "He's got my feet!" she cried.

  Adam held onto her as tightly as he could, but he could feel her slipping. "I'm losing you!"

  Jessica kicked as hard as she could and felt the weight of Crooked Nose fall from her feet. She heard him scream as he toppled from the running horse. She heard the pounding hooves and the splintering of bones as his body was crushed by the herd of horses he'd stolen.

  Adam rode with the herd until they slowed and came to a stop. Then he pulled Jessica up so that she straddled the horse, facing him.

  "Adam," she sobbed. "Adam!"

  "Shhh." He kissed her mouth, her cheeks, her eyelids. "It's all right, sweetheart. You're all right."

  She clung to him. "I was so scared. Oh, God! Why do these things keep happening to me?"

  He slid off the horse and pulled her down with him. He stood there in the darkness holding her until her tears were spent. Finally she looked up at him, wiping at her tears. "I'm such a baby," she told him, ashamed of herself. "I've cried more since I met you than I've cried in my whole life."

  He laughed, pulling her hard against him. God, she felt good in his arms, flesh against flesh. He could feel her heart beating, his own pulse racing. "I'd say you've earned yourself a good cry," he assured her, stroking her hair.

  She sniffed, looking up into his dark eyes. "What about them?" She glanced over her shoulder at the Utes in the distance.

  He looked back at the campfire a quarter of a mile in the distance. The drums had ceased. There were silhouettes of men, but no one seemed to be in any great hurry to see what had become of their leader. Adam kissed the top of her head. "I don't think they're going to bother us. If they were, they'd be here by now."

  "Here comes one." Jessica watched as the silhouette of a Ute brave approached them. It was the man wearing Adam's boots and hat. She could see the outline of the hat on his head. He stopped halfway to them, crouched to see something on the ground, then came toward them.

  Jessica felt Adam stiffen as the Ute walked up to them. She held onto Adam. Her strength was gone. She was sick to death of being brave.

  The Ute stopped a few feet from them. There was silence for a moment. Then he removed Adam's hat, then his boots and set them on the ground. He signaled with his hands.

  Adam interpreted for Jessica. "We took a vote. You're our new leader, Ojibwa."

  "The leader?" Jessica echoed.

  Adam glanced up at the moon, full and glorious in its golden splendor. "Your leader?" Adam signed.

  The Ute began to signal again.

  Adam spoke slowly. "The Kiowa's dead. You fight your own battles. The Kiowa—"

  The Ute scowled, adding an obscene gesture for emphasis.

  "The Kiowa," Adam went on. "We always fought his battles for him."

  Adam released Jessica and picked up one boot at a time, slipping his bare feet into them. He signaled back to the brave, his bloody hands moving quickly. "I thank you for the honor to lead you and your men," he said aloud, picking his words carefully. He didn't want to insult them. He honestly didn't think he had enough strength for another fight and there were still ten or eleven braves. "But I must go and take my woman."

  The Ute nodded appreciatively. Then he began to signal again.


  Adam said nothing for a moment.

  "What? What did he say?" Jessica asked.

  "He said," Adam answered, his voice laced with amusement, "I will give two horses, a bottle of whiskey, and a Cavalry pistol for the Jess-i-ca woman." He mimicked her name in the manner Crooked Nose had pronounced it.

  "Well, say no!" Jessica snapped.

  Adam glanced over his shoulder. "It's tempting," he said as he turned back to the Ute. He began to signal. "She's nothing but trouble, but no." He shook his head for emphasis. "She's mine."

  The Ute shrugged as if to say it had been worth a try.

  Adam put his hat on his head and motioned for Jessica to follow. Together the three started for the campfires. "I'll take my horses, my bags, my woman, my guns." he signaled, speaking. He looked at the Ute who walked beside him in the darkness. "You will be the leader."

  They veered around Crooked Nose's crumpled, lifeless body. Jessica looked away.

  The Ute hit his chest with his fist in surprise.

  "Yes, you." Adam answered with hand signals.

  The Ute grinned, throwing back his shoulders to strut into the camp. The other braves gathered around, flasks of whiskey in their hands. They were laughing, but the tone had changed. Jessica felt no fear this time when she entered their circle.

  The Ute Adam had made the leader quickly explained what was happening in his own tongue. The braves seemed to accept the decision without complaint. One or two men made comments.

  The Ute turned to Adam, his hands flashing in the firelight.

  Adam interpreted. "They accept. You are welcome to sleep the night in our camp and go on your way in the morning." He glanced at Jessica. "What do you say? We spend the night, get an early start in the morning?"

  Jessica laughed as she walked out of the light of the fire toward the tent where her belongings were. "You stay, if you like, Adam Sern. I'm getting the hell out of here."

  Adam laughed, and then turned back to the Ute, thanking him for his hospitality, but declining his offer. A few minutes later Adam appeared at the tent with Hera and Zeus saddled and ready to ride. Jessica strapped on the saddlebags and mounted. She pulled her doeskin skirt down over her bare thighs as best she could.

  Adam swung astride. "Ready?"

  She nodded. "Which way?"

  "I thought we'd go back into the mountains for the night. I've got to have some sleep. I can't tell you the last time I closed my eyes. But there's no sense in letting them know which way we're headed. They might sober up by morning and change their minds."

  She clicked to Hera and the horse started south. "I don't care which way we go as long as it's out of here."

  They circled the camp. Adam waved to the Utes in salute and together he and Jessica rode south.

  Behind her, she could hear the soft pounding of a drum and singing. She and Adam rode in silence for several minutes. Then suddenly something ran in front of their path. The horses shied.

  "What was it?" Jessica patted Hera's neck to calm her.

  Adam reined in. A few feet away he could make out the silhouette of an animal. "I'll be damned," Adam muttered.

  "What?" Jessica turned in the saddle.

  "You see it?"

  She nodded as she glanced back to Adam, her eyes meeting his. "The badger," she murmured.

  "I was supposed to kill it." He sat back in the saddle, his eyes fixed on its beady ones. They watched it for a moment, then it loped away, disappearing into the darkness.

  Jessica felt Adam's hand slip into hers. "Let's get the hell out of here, sweetheart."

  At the stream in the foothills of the ridge, they stopped for water. Jessica slid to the ground and followed Adam. "You probably should wash some of that blood off and let me get a look at those bites and scratches. Wounds like that can turn bad fast," she told him as she watched him throw down his hat and pull off his boots.

  Her breath caught in her throat as he tossed his loincloth aside and waded into the water. Even bloodied and covered with dirt he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. The sculptured muscles of his back and biceps rippled as he leaned over and cupped water to splash his face. The moonlight played off the water that ran in rivulets down his chest. Each droplet glistened.

  Adam glanced up to see her staring brazenly at his nakedness. Their eyes met and he offered his hand. "Jess . . ."

  His voice was a caress to her ears. No man had ever done for her what Adam had done. He'd risked his life for her. He'd been willing to die so that she might live. She pulled off her boots and stepped into the water. It was cold despite the hot night air.

  Adam still held his hand outstretched.

  She stood a few feet from him. Her heart pounded. Her mouth was dry. Her hands trembled. What was this she felt? Desire . . . lust? Or was it more? The word love hovered in her subconscious mind.

  She picked up the hem of the doeskin dress and lifted it over her head. She heard Adam inhale sharply.

  Her eyes met his again. She thought she would be embarrassed standing in front of a man stark naked. But she wasn't embarrassed, she wasn't ashamed. His gaze made her breasts tingle, her stomach turn in knots. There was a certain excitement to have a man stare boldly at her unclothed form.

  Adam came to her. He took her hand with his and brought it to his lips. She let her hand fall to his shoulder. His flesh was cut to ribbons.

  "Adam," she whispered. "I'm so sorry." She scooped up a handful of water and let it run through her fingers over his shoulder.

  His eyes drifted shut. His flesh burned from the badger's scratches and bites. The cool water soothed him. Her fingertips brushing against him made him shiver with pleasure. Gently she washed him, rinsing away the blood and pain, replacing it with tingles of desire.

  He entwined her fingers in his. Their lips met . . . gently at first. Hesitantly. There was so much to say. This wasn't the time or the place to fulfill his fantasies, to finally hold her in his arms and make love to her as he had done only in his dreams.

  "Jess," he whispered in her ear. "I've wanted you for so long."

  She didn't know what to say. She looked into his ebony eyes, smoothing his brow. She didn't want him to think she was silly. "I never thought I would want this," she whispered. "I never thought I would want a man to touch me." She took his hand, lifting it to her breast. "But I want you, Adam. I want you to touch me . . . love me."

  Adam's mouth crushed hers. His arms tightened around her until she thought she would faint for want of air. His hands glided over her damp body, setting her flesh on fire. They were both panting. Their mouths met again and again as she pressed her hips to his, craving the feel of his male hardness against her.

  Adam swept her into his arms and carried her to the bank. She threaded her fingers through his wet hair as he knelt and laid her gently in a patch of grass. Moonlight illuminated his chiseled bronze face. She caressed his cheek, murmuring his name.

  Adam kissed her bruised lips. He touched her chin with the tip of his tongue, then made his way to the valley between her breasts, leaving a trail of dampness. Jessica held her breath in tingling anticipation, watching, until his lips met the peak of her breast.

  She arched her back, crying out with pleasure. Her nipple was already puckered, hard with desire. He stretched over her, covering her pliant body with his own muscle and sinew. He suckled one breast and then the other. She ran her hands over his back, her fingers playing lightly over every inch of him.

  When Adam's hand touched the tender flesh of her thighs, she parted them. Her whole body was alive with sensation. She could feel her blood pulsating through her veins. She wanted him. She wanted to be consumed by the sensations.

  Adam stroked the nest of curls between her thighs. "So soft," he whispered. "So sweet."

  She raised her hips to meet his touch. His strokes made her cry out with pleasure. But they weren't enough. She wanted more. "Adam," she managed. "Please."

  He lowered his head over hers, taking in her green eyes, smoky with
desire. "Jess, you are my heart," he told her, his voice raspy with longing.

  She parted her thighs, accepting his engorged member. She cried out with surprise, with intense sensation. She had expected pain, but there was no pain, only a tightness which soon eased.

  Adam took a moment to let her adjust to the feel of him and then he began to rock gently. Jessica cupped his hard muscular buttocks, guiding his rhythm. Waves of pleasure rolled over her as she raised and lowered her hips to meet his thrusts. He lowered his head to her shoulder, murmuring soft words of encouragement. He tried to pace himself, wanting to prolong her pleasure as long as he could.

  Jessica rode the tide of sensation, adrift with pleasure, wanting it to go on forever. Their bodies rose and fell as one until finally, half sobbing, she grasped his shoulders, crying out with intense fulfillment as her body convulsed again and again.

  The sound of Jessica's voice brought Adam over the crest. He groaned and gave a final thrust, spilling into her.

  For a moment neither could do anything but gasp for breath. Finally Adam rolled onto his side, relieving her of the pressure of his body. Jessica sighed as he slipped from her.

  She lifted her heavy eyelids, smiling up at him. "That was . . ." She didn't know what to say. No words could describe what she had felt, but not just physically. This man, Adam, had touched her heart.

  He kissed her damp forehead, smiling down at her. "Yeah. It was, wasn't it?"

  She laughed, laying her head back on his arm. Above, the dark sky hung like a canopy with pinpricks of white light shining through. The moon was half covered by a drifting dark cloud. As her body relaxed, conscious thought began to return. She thought of Caine, of Jacob, of Mark . . ."We've really complicated things here, haven't we, partner?"

  Adam raised up on his elbow and stared into her eyes. "No. I told you, I've fallen in love with you."

  She sighed, closing her eyes. "I don't know if I love you. I want you, even now. Again." She laughed at her own brazenness. "I need you. But love?" She raised her lashes. "I don't know if I can love you . . . if I'm capable."

  He kissed her softly. "Tell me, Jessica, tell me why you're running. Tell me why you're afraid. Tell me who hurt you."