Enchanted Ecstasy

by Constance O'Banyon

  "No sir," Kane said quickly, knowing if Maleaha must go he had to be there to protect her.

  "Very well then, I suggest you try and get some rest, since you will be riding out early in the morning."

  Maleaha had not easily given her consent to go to Mangas's camp. She was fearful of the consequences, but she felt it was her duty to help in any way she could, and if Mangas could be persuaded to help the army, maybe together they would deal with the Arapaho.

  Her father had left over two weeks before for Spain, and he had wanted her to accompany him, but she had not wanted to go on a long sea voyage at this time. Jonas had been prepared to cancel his trip until Maleaha told him she might meet him in Paris next spring. She knew she would miss her father terribly, but deep inside she knew she did not want to go because she hoped she might see Kane again.

  The next morning she waited for Kane outside the fort gates. She felt nervous. She had not seen him since the night he had spent at the ranch.

  Kane was grim-faced as he rode through the gates at the head of his troops. He saw Maleaha and Lamas waiting for him. Once again she was dressed in her buckskins. He saw her nudge her mount in the flanks and she joined him at the front of the column, while Lamas fell in behind her. Kane was still angry with her and offered no form of greeting, but stared straight ahead.

  They rode for over an hour at a fast pace before Kane gave the word to slow down. It was only when they had slowed their horses to a walk that Kane spoke to her in a quiet voice that could not be overheard by the others.

  "Why did you feel it was necessary for you to come along, Miss Deveraux?"

  Maleaha looked at him quickly, not understanding the anger she heard in his voice.

  "I can assure you, major, it was not for the pleasure of your company. I, like many others, would like to see an end to this upheaval."

  "Let me make one thing clear, Miss Deveraux. I am in charge this time. You will do as you are told, with no questions asked. Is that clear?"

  "I understand, major. I will not challenge your authority as long as it agrees with what is best for all concerned."

  The muscle in his jaw twitched, a sure sign that he was angry with her. This was the major as Maleaha understood him. He had been different the last time she had seen him, asking her forgiveness. She could easily handle this man, but she was unsure of herself with the man he had been in her garden the other night.

  "You will obey my orders, or else return home at once."

  "I have told you before, I do not answer to you. I am not on the army payroll," she told him angrily. And then she went a step farther. "I can always go home like you suggested, and then how would you find Mangas?"

  Kane gave her a scalding glance. "I wish to hell you would go home. I am not the least bit happy about your coming along this time, Miss Deveraux."

  "How would you find Mangas without me to lead you to him?"

  "Lamas could lead me to Mangas. It is not necessary for you to come along, and if you were not so stubborn you would see that."

  Maleaha smiled smugly, "Lamas could lead you to Mangas, true, but he could not talk Mangas into helping you, and perhaps I can."

  Kane was about to object but he clamped his mouth shut, knowing she was right. At that moment he would have liked to shake her until her teeth rattled. He remembered Jonas telling him what could happen should Mangas get his hands on Maleaha, and he was determined that Mangas would not touch her as long as he was alive to prevent it.

  "Major, is it understood that I will take only you to Mangas's camp, the same as before?"

  "Yes. Is the village located in the same place as before?"

  "No."

  The sun was just rising, painting the sky with its glorious golden hue. Kane looked about him, filled with the beauty of the land. He wondered just when he had begun to love this enchanted land. When had he stopped resenting New Mexico? It felt almost as if in accepting this land, it had adopted him, and accepted him as surely as if he had been a native-born son.

  Kane glanced sideways at Maleaha, who was looking at the distant mountains. She was lovely in her soft buckskins. How right it felt to have her riding beside him. For the first time in his life he wanted someone to belong to him. He wanted to put down roots, to build a home. How good it would be to awaken every morning with her lying beside him. A lump came into his throat, thinking how good it would be to lie beside her and take her into his arms, making her truly his. He wanted to stamp her as his possession, so that all other men would know she belonged to him.

  They rode until early afternoon, then Kane raised his hand and called out to his sergeant.

  "Company halt, sergeant."

  "Company halt," the sergeant called out in a loud blusterous voice.

  "Company dismount, sergeant."

  "Company dismount," the sergeant echoed.

  The soldiers dismounted amid the crackling of leather and the jingling of spurs. Maleaha slid from the back of her horse, to walk along beside Kane. His footsteps could be heard as his spurs jingled with each step he took. Maleaha's moccasin-clad feet made no noise as she took faster steps to match his long strides.

  "Do we take the long way around this time, Miss Deveraux?"

  "I am afraid so, major."

  Kane removed his gloves and tucked them into his belt. "There is every need for haste, you know?"

  "I am aware of that, major, but I cannot take you the direct route to the Jojoba village."

  Kane gave her a disdainful glance.

  "Company remount, sergeant," he called over his shoulder.

  "Company remount," came the reply.

  It was almost sundown when Kane gave the order to make camp. Maleaha unsaddled her horse and spread her blanket about thirty paces away from the rest of the camp. She was beginning to feel uneasy, being the only female among so many men. It was at best an awkward situation.

  Lamas laid his blanket beside hers, and, reaching into his leather pouch, he removed the roast meat and homemade bread Margaretta had prepared for him and Maleaha.

  Maleaha took the food Lamas handed her and took a bite.

  "Someone comes," Lamas told her. His keen hearing could pick up every sound.

  Maleaha was surprised when she recognized Lieutenant Maxwell. He smiled shyly and sat down on a huge rock.

  "I have been wanting to speak to you, ma'am. I was wondering if you think Mangas can be persuaded to help us find the Arapaho?".

  Maleaha noticed the way he looked at her. There was no mistaking the look of interest in his soft brown eyes. She had met him briefly at the ball and had even danced with him once.

  "I don't know, Lieutenant Maxwell. That remains to be seen."

  "Miss Deveraux, I have admired you for some time now. I think you are very lovely." Then he lowered his head in embarrassment. "I also think you are very brave. I know of no other woman who would ride unafraid into Mangas's camp."

  Maleaha smiled at him. "How many women do you know with my qualifications, Lieutenant Maxwell?"

  He grinned. "Not a one, ma'am, and no one I know is as pretty as you, either."

  Maleaha could not keep from laughing. He seemed so sincere. Most probably he was older than her by some three or four years, and yet he appeared so young to her.

  Kane stood in the shadows, feeling angry at the scene he was witnessing.

  "Lieutenant Maxwell, who gave you permission to leave camp?" Kane said in a velvety-smooth voice.

  The young lieutenant snapped to attention and looked shamefaced. "I am sorry, sir, I had not thought . . ."

  "No, you did not think," Kane interrupted him. "You might want to pass the word that Miss Deveraux is off limits to all soldiers, and that is an order."

  Maleaha watched as the lieutenant walked away quickly, feeling very foolish for being reprimanded in front of her. She felt pity for him, thinking the major could have been a little nicer to him.

  "You were a little harsh with him. He was not doing anything wrong," she declared hotly.<
br />
  His eyes flashed dangerously, "Miss Deveraux, I would appreciate it if in the future you would not hold private conversations with my men. It will be hard enough for them to keep their minds on their duties with you along to distract them, much less if you encourage them to seek you out privately."

  Angry words tumbled to her lips, but she never got the chance to voice them because he turned his back and walked away from her.

  Maleaha had a good mind to ride away and leave him to find Mangas on his own. She stood up and angrily kicked a stone. Her reward was the pain that shot through her foot. Sitting down on her blanket, she rubbed her aching foot.

  Lamas had watched all the proceedings with his usual look of boredom, but he could not help the look of amusement that washed over his wrinkled old face.

  "Lamas, that man makes me so angry I have half a mind to go home and let him try to find Mangas on his own."

  Lamas shrugged his shoulders. "He is a good man."

  "Good for what?"

  ' 'Good for you, I think. He returns,'' Lamas told her at the same time she detected Kane's footsteps.

  Looking up, Maleaha saw that Kane carried his bedroll, which he tossed to the ground.

  "I have decided it is not safe for you to sleep so far from camp with only the old Indian to protect you," he said, unrolling his bedroll.

  "I am safe enough with Lamas. He detected your footsteps long before you came into sight."

  Kane watched as the old Indian stood up and walked away, soon to be swallowed up by the night shadows.

  "I do not like to have to repeat myself, but I am in charge, and what I say goes. Do I make myself clear?"

  "Oh, I understand what you are saying, major, and if it makes you feel more in charge to be asserting your authority over me, so be it," she said flippantly.

  With a quick motion he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to her feet.

  "My God, you try a man's patience. I have taken about all I intend to from you." He pulled her into his arms.

  Maleaha struggled as his hands moved down her back, drawing her tightly against his body. Looking into his face, she saw the anger leave him, to be replaced by a look she could not define. His silver eyes froze her into immobility.

  She felt herself being pulled under his spell. It was as if she were being drawn to him, as a helpless moth seeks the flame knowing it will get its wings singed.

  Maleaha waited expectantly as his lips moved to within a hairs-breadth of her waiting lips.

  "Damn you," he ground out between clenched teeth as he shoved her roughly away from him.

  Maleaha looked away from him, feeling heartsick and ashamed. She knew at that moment he had felt drawn to her, as she had to him, but she was wise enough to know that attraction was not the same as love. Did he resent the fact that he was drawn to her? Was he repelled by his attraction to her? Deep inside, did he still think of her as nothing more than an Indian?

  Lamas had returned and lain down on his blanket, and Maleaha walked over to him on shaky legs, needing to put Kane out of her mind. She heard him lie down on his bedroll, and she sat down beside Lamas and folded her legs beneath her. The old man's eyes rested on her. How like her mother she looks, he thought. Lamas had secretly loved Cimeron, and her daughter was very dear to his heart.

  "Do not be troubled, Maleaha. Look at every day as a gift. When one wastes time worrying, then the gift is wasted."

  "Lamas, I have many worries on my mind, not the least of which is wondering what Mangas will do when he sees me again."

  "I have heard it said that Mangas wants you for his woman. I told you it was not wise for you to go to his camp. I will try to prevent him from taking you, if I am able.'5

  "I knew the danger when I agreed to come, but I felt I could help sway Mangas to aid the army in rounding up the Arapaho." She sighed. "I am frightened, Lamas. What shall I do?"

  The old man was quiet for a moment, pondering her words. "You could tell Mangas you are this man's woman. It could work well for you if Mangas's spies are watching you, and they see this man lying beside you."

  Maleaha looked over her shoulder to where Kane was lying on his bedroll. His arms were folded behind his head and he seemed oblivious to his surroundings. She eased herself to her feet and walked slowly over to her blanket. As she lay down she noticed Kane had turned his back to her. She supposed her reputation would be in shreds when it was learned she had slept beside the major, but that was the very least of her concerns at the moment.

  "I suppose you will wreak havoc with my reputation, major," she said sadly, not really expecting him to understand.

  "Go to sleep, Miss Deveraux," he said wearily.

  The same pattern was repeated the next night. The major came to where Maleaha and Lamas were camped and unrolled his bedroll, then turned his back on her and drifted off to sleep.

  In the daytime, as she rode beside him, he was silent. Word must have reached the rest of the soldiers that they were not to have any conversation with Maleaha, for not one of them had approached her. Every so often she would see Lieutenant Maxwell watching her, and she would smile at him, but she noticed he would look around for the major before he would return her smile.

  Around noon on the fourth day they stopped to eat and rest the horses. Maleaha sought out Kane. He had been talking to his sergeant, and he watched her as she approached. He noticed the way her hips moved as she walked, and by the look on the sergeant's face, he knew he had noticed also.

  "I'm an old man, major, but that is the prettiest little gal I have ever seen. Makes me feel good just to look at her, sir," The sergeant told Kane.

  "I suggest, sergeant, that you tend to your duties and forget about Miss Deveraux."

  The sergeant laughed. "I'll go about my duties, sir, but I doubt I will forget about Miss Deveraux."

  By now Maleaha had reached Kane's side, and he turned angrily to face her.

  "What do you want, Miss Deveraux?" he asked in an incensed voice.

  She blinked at the anger in his voice. ' T only wanted to tell you there is a stream about five miles from here. If you will have your men camp there, you, Lamas, and I will go on to the Jojoba village alone."

  She watched as Kane angrily stalked away. Was that man always angry, she wondered. He surely spent most of his time being angry with her. She shrugged her shoulders and went in search of Lamas.

  After Kane had instructed Lieutenant Maxwell on what he wanted him to do, he mounted his horse and rode away beside Maleaha, with Lamas riding just to the rear.

  Maleaha looked at him and noticed that he was still angry, so she did not try to talk to him.

  By nightfall they were deep within the mountains, and that night they set up camp in the dense forest. After they had eaten, Maleaha disappeared, and she had now been gone for over an hour. It was dark, and Kane paced back and forth, waiting for her to return.

  "Why does she not return?" he asked Lamas, but the old Indian merely shrugged his shoulders and acted unconcerned.

  Kane had just decided to go and search for her when he saw her emerge from the trees. Her hair was wet, so he suspected she had been bathing. She stopped beside the old man and spoke to him rapidly in the language of the Jojoba, and then Lamas stood up, and was soon lost among the dark shadows.

  Maleaha walked casually toward Kane.

  "Act natural, major; we are being observed."

  Kane reached out and put a protective arm about her shoulder. "Did you discover you were being watched before or after you bathed?"

  "It was during my bath that I realized I was being watched," she told him with a look of amusement.

  "Do you think it is the Jojoba?"

  "I cannot be sure, but I pray it is."

  The two of them waited tensely for Lamas to return. When he did reappear, he was so silent that Kane did not see him until he was beside them. Kane waited while the old man spoke to Maleaha.

  "We have nothing to fear, major. It is the Jojoba."

  Ka
ne looked past her into the dark forest that surrounded them. How was it that she could see and hear things that no normal person could detect? It was irritating to him that she always seemed to have the upper hand where he was concerned.

  He unrolled his bedroll and placed it under one of the trees. He was surprised when Maleaha walked over to him with her blanket and spread it beside him.

  "Major, I am going to do something you may not understand, but please trust me and ask no questions." She removed her moccasins and lay down beside her blanket.

  Kane looked from her to the old man, in total confusion. Apparently Lamas found nothing out of the ordinary about the sleeping arrangement. He merely yawned and rolled up in his blanket, turning his back to them.

  Kane lay down on his bedroll, and was further confused when Maleaha moved over and placed her head on his shoulder.

  "What the hell do you think you are doing?" he asked, as he grabbed a handful of wet, ebony-colored hair and forced her to look at him in the face.

  "What game are you playing?" He looked into luminous green eyes and drew in his breath as her sensuous lips parted in silent invitation.

  "Kiss me, Kane," she said, using his name for the first time.

  The use of his name and the feel of her soft body pressed close to him was his undoing. His lips came down on hers hungrily. But no sooner had his lips touched hers, than she shoved him away and laid her head down, looking at him with amusement.

  Kane glanced at the old man, who appeared to be sleeping. "Did you wish to test me to see if you could make me want you, Miss Deveraux?" Kane said through stiff lips. The brief contact with her had stirred his body to life, with awareness of her. Every nerve end cried out to possess her.

  "I am sorry, major. You must think my actions very strange, but please trust me, and ask no questions."

  Her lips opened in a provocative smile. "Do not worry; your virtue is safe with me."

  Kane had the impulse to turn her over his knee and give her the spanking her father had probably never given her.

  "God, it must be some sort of punishment for me to endure. I think you are aware of what you are doing to me and are enjoying yourself at my expense. Just be warned that you have almost pushed me to my limit."