The Officer and the Traveler

by Rose Gordon

  Gray reached for her hands and placed one in the center of his hard stomach. “You’re all right.” He winked. “But you could go lower.”

  She batted her eyelashes at him. “I can?”

  A predatory grin split his handsome face. “It’s encouraged.”

  She would have laughed were she not suddenly so nervous. Which was silly. She’d seen him naked before. They’d even shared intimacies on their wedding night. Why was it so different now?

  As if sensing her hesitancy, Gray encircled her wrist and guided her hand down to the waistband of his trousers.

  She froze, debating what to do. Last time she hadn’t touched that part of him and she had no idea what to do. With a swallow, she moved her hand lower, cupping him.

  He exhaled, his body tightening.

  She licked her lips, emboldened. “I take it you like that.”

  “Can’t you tell?” he said with a grunt.

  Michaela ran her fingertips down his hardened length. “I think so.”

  “You think so?” he choked. “I’m about to burst the seams in my trousers and you think you know how much I long for you?”

  “Ah, is that what that is,” she teased, giving him a squeeze. “Evidence of your arousal?”

  He sucked in a harsh breath. “No. It’s evidence my desire for you and you alone.”

  She loved the way he spoke those words almost as much as the man himself. She gave him another squeeze before moving to the fastenings of his trousers.

  It took but a few seconds to work them loose and have Gray standing naked before her. She took a moment to appreciate his chiseled body. Only a few outlines of bruises still covered his skin and a slight bulge where he’d broken his ribs. Other than that, there was no sign that this virile specimen had been nearly sent to his grave just two weeks prior.

  His waist was trim and lean, his legs thick and well-muscled. Even his erection looked imposing jutting out from a thick nest of curly black hair.

  She blushed, eliciting a deep, rich chuckle from her husband. Straightening, she took a step backward suddenly very aware of her own desires. One of which was for her husband to look upon her in much the same manner as she was seeing him.

  Releasing her last vulnerability and hesitation, she took hold of the thin straps of her chemise and began lowering it. She watched his face as she went about her task. His jaw was clenched, the muscles in his face tight and his throat was working convulsively. Michaela commanded her hands to stay steady as she brought the top of her chemise below her breasts. Nervous excitement coursed through her, spurred on by the intense look on Gray’s face. He hadn’t looked at her thus on their wedding night. She’d have remembered if he had.

  Michaela continued to move her chemise down until she reached her waist, then with one, quick breath, she released her hold on the straps and let it pool into a puddle of cotton and lace at her feet, revealing herself completely to Gray.

  Instantly, he was in front of her, kissing her. His hands found her hair, and began freeing it from its confines until it all spilled down over her shoulders.

  He deepened their kiss. Michaela mirrored his actions and became breathless when Gray pulled back and hauled her onto the bed. He wasted no time in joining her. His lips on hers and his hands roaming her body. She pressed her swollen breast into his palm. He gave her a firm yet gentle squeeze. His warm lips now kissing their way down to her other breast.

  Anticipation swirled within her as his lips moved closer and closer toward the crest of her breast. She arched her back, praying he’d have mercy on her. He didn’t. He kissed all around the softness of her breast before his lips finally captured her nipple. She gasped, her hands flying to the back of his head as if she could hold him there. She threaded her fingers between his thick locks, curling them as he continued to lavish attention on her right breast. Then a few moments later, he was giving the same gentle attentions to the other.

  He skated his right hand down her body, the rough calluses of his palm rubbing against her skin nearly set her on fire. He reached her hip, alerting her to the strange feeling building in her just a little lower. He ran his finger over her hipbone and into the natural dip that lie between her hip and her womanly core.

  Gray pressed warm kisses down her breast, then to the sides and along the under curve as he trailed his fingers through her springy curls. “Gray,” she said on a gasp.

  He murmured her name against her skin and brushed her delicate core with his thumb. Her body jerked in response.

  “Trust me,” he whispered, repeating his touch.

  She closed her eyes. “I do.”

  “Good,” he murmured, shifting his hand lower. He ran a finger over her most intimate place, then pushed his finger inside.

  An involuntary gasp crossed her lips. Then again when he repeated the movement. He lightly nipped the sensitive skin on her side just above her hip and she pulled her hands from his hair and gripped his shoulders. Hard. His movements sped in time with hot sparks that shot through her body, giving her both a spray of tingles throughout and a knot of unnameable pressure in her lower abdomen.

  Then he stopped.

  Her eyes shot open. “Gray?”

  He rolled over and reached for her. “Come here.”

  She couldn’t move. Frustration and some other tension she couldn’t explain held her captive to where she lay.

  “Come here,” he encouraged again his voice an odd mix of silk and gravel.

  She allowed him to help her roll over and straddle him, careful not to hit him in the ribs with her knees.

  “Get on your knees,” he murmured. He reached between them and suddenly there was something hard and wide pushing at her entrance.

  She swallowed and searched his face. What she was looking for, she didn’t know. Any clue that would unlock the mystery of this unusual man and what he wanted from her. Then, he gripped her hips and guided her downward, saying, “We’ll find fulfillment together this time.”

  She took his hands from her hips and sliding off of his length placed them above his head. “And every time,” she whispered, sliding back down all the way.

  He groaned. “Always.”

  It took only a second for her body to adjust to the fullness of him inside of her. She rocked her hips experimentally. Sparks flew through her. She did it again. Faster this time. Another spray of sparks. Hotter and more intense this time. Instinctively, she leaned forward and put her hands on Gray’s shoulders for support as she found a rhythm.

  Gray missed no opportunity there and brought his hands between them, cupping and shaping her breasts, only stoking that inner fire in her more. But not enough. She was on the cusp of something. Each thrust brought her closer, but not pushing her over. A small sound of vexation lodged in her throat. Would this tension never break?

  Gray released her breasts and trailed his hands down her ribs to grasp her hips. She surrendered control, allowing him to guide her body in a much harder, faster pace, until suddenly a split-second later, waves of hot and cold rushed over every inch of her and her mind went entirely blank. Before she could fully form a coherent thought, a savage growl was torn from Gray’s throat and his body went rigid under her.

  A moment later, he released his hold on her and she eased down to rest with her head on his chest.

  “I love you, Michaela,” he whispered against her hair.

  She couldn’t stop the smile that spread her lips. “I know and I love you, too, Gray.”

  “Do you, now?”

  “Yes, and I will tomorrow.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll love you forever.”

  “Forever is a very long time, Captain Montgomery,” she teased.

  “And it still won’t be long enough.”

  Epilogue

  The Next Day

  Gray was going to be late to work. But he didn’t seem to care. He’d spent half the night awake making love to Michaela in every way he could imagine that wouldn’t kill his ribs. He idly rubbed them. They
throbbed, but it had been well worth it.

  “Don’t you think it’s time you got ready to go to work?” Michaela asked laughingly from where she stood in front of the bureau looking for a new chemise.

  “Not yet.” Gray wrapped his arms around her and set her down on the bed, her waist on the edge with her legs on either side of his standing form. “I think I’d like to try this position again.”

  She blushed, but obliged.

  A half hour later he still wasn’t ready to go, but forced himself before Colonel Lewis, or worse General Davis, came looking for him.

  “We’re only ten minutes late, nobody will remark on it,” Gray tried to assure his wife. “With as much excitement as happened here last night, I imagine we’re not the only ones tired.”

  “But we had a different kind of excitement.”

  They stepped outside their room and instantly knew something was different. Everyone was about and the atmosphere was buzzing. Two men stood in the stocks and he couldn’t be sure from where he stood but two others appeared to be locked up in the stockade.

  “I wonder what’s going on,” Michaela commented.

  “I imagine it’s talk of what happened with the Cherokees last night.” He pulled Michaela as close to him as he could. “Let’s see if we can find Wes and Allison or Jack and Ella.”

  Both couples weren’t hard to find. They were huddled together at the Lewises’ along with Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, General Davis, General Howard and Private Jacobs, poring over an array of maps.

  “Where the hell have you two been?” General Davis demanded, looking up from the map he was studying.

  “I don’t think you should ask questions you don’t really wish to know the answer to,” Gray said carefully, pulling over a vacant chair for Michaela.

  “Nor that I want to know the answer,” Jack said with a grin.

  “I already know the answer,” Wes murmured so quietly Gray was certain no one else, including Michaela, heard.

  “Well, while you two were off enjoying each other’s company the entire government of this fort has fallen apart,” General Davis said, frowning.

  Gray almost laughed at the man’s irritated expression. One thing was for certain General Davis always took his work seriously.

  “We were present for part of it,” Gray said helpfully, garnering a small giggle from both Michaela and Ella.

  “Yes, then you vanished before the good part,” Wes said, laughter dancing in his eyes. He lowered his voice again. “Not that I blame you.”

  Gray felt not a hint of disappointment at leaving early. What happened last night between the Cherokees and the soldiers wasn’t nearly as important as the realization that he loved his wife and always would.

  He put his hands on her delicate shoulders and feigned interest in the conversation that swirled around him. He assumed the “good part” as Wes had so strangely coined it consisted of General Ridgely running off with Soft Dove, abandoning his wife and post for the promise of a future with the Indian maiden and the child she carried. Not that he had a choice. Or at least not much of one. Private Jacobs was actually General O’Hare, a spy sent from Washington a year ago to investigate why there were more men being paid than were reported still living at the fort. It was while he was investigating the inaccuracies regarding the living and dead among them that he discovered the group of riders who went out on nights when only a name and not a body sat in the southwest watchtower. He’d been the one who’d sent to Washington for General Howard to come out. It was also O’Hare who’d been responsible for the information getting to Colonel Lewis about the need for a watch party in the southwest blockhouse.

  As he’d already put together, it was General Davis and his own love for torturing Gray who’d written the note that put the two of them in a darkened store closet for a time.

  “Where is General Ridgely now?” Gray asked, more out of courtesy than curiosity.

  “Amos Ridgely is no longer worthy of the title of general,” General Davis practically barked. He blew out a deep breath. “According to Soaring Eagle’s daughter, the note gave them reason to believe that the two had made plans to run away together during daylight when nobody would be around to suspect anything.”

  “And her sister knew they’d run away together all day and didn’t inform anyone?” Ella asked.

  “Sounds familiar doesn’t it, girls?” General Davis asked, casting a glance first at Ella, then at Michaela.

  “I told you that I’d have told you where she’d really gone if I didn’t get a letter from her in a reasonable amount of time,” Michaela said.

  General Davis waved his hand through the air, a touch of a smile on his weathered face. “I think it all worked out how it should have.” There was an amused gleam in the older man’s green eyes, one that would suggest he wasn’t just referring to his being content with the matches both Ella and Michaela made. But he didn’t say anything more. “As for Ridgely, as of this morning, he hasn’t been found. If the sister is correct and they left sometime earlier in the day, they very well could have been out of the Territory before we even knew either were missing.” He raked his hand through his hair. “Chief Soaring Eagle is having his tribe look all over their lands and has sent men to other lands to ask their tribes to look. Word has been sent to Fort Smith and we suspect that their men will start canvassing the border.”

  “Do you think he’ll be found?” Allison asked.

  “Not if he doesn’t want to be,” General Davis said, frowning.

  “And believe me, he doesn’t want to be found,” General Howard stated. “The evidence we have against him for embezzling from the Army is more than enough to send him into hiding for an eternity.”

  Colonel Lewis sighed. “The fact is, Soft Dove knows the area so well. I’d imagine if they were able to leave without anyone noticing and having that much of a start on everyone, they’re gone and the Army doesn’t have the funds and amount of men needed to search the entire countryside for one errant general.” A grim smile took his lips. “Not to say that we’re not going to do our best to find him, though. We were just studying maps to see where to send troops when the two of you decided to join us.”

  Gray bent forward to glance at one of the maps of the area.

  “What will happen to Sarah?” Michaela asked softly.

  Gray squeezed his wife’s shoulders affectionately, all thoughts of the map and his forthcoming orders disappearing at the concern in his wife’s voice. Late in the night, Michaela had asked an indirect question about a delicate topic. Without wanting to force Michaela to break her confidence to her friend, he answered her as best he could; given the information she’d told him.

  Mrs. Lewis’ lips curved into a hint of a smile. “She plans to travel back East where she can seek a legal divorce and reunite with her son. She was over here pacing and making plans all last night. The poor dear will probably sleep for a week from exhaustion.”

  “There will be plenty of time for her to sleep along her journey,” General Davis said, standing abruptly. “I’d better go pack my things. Girls, you might wish to go help Mrs. Ridgely and remind her that we’re leaving directly after lunch.”

  Beneath Gray’s hands, Michaela tensed. “You’re leaving today?”

  General Davis nodded. “Don’t act so disappointed, Michaela. I’ll be back once I settle my affairs back in Savannah.”

  “You’ll be back?” Gray hardly registered his own voice.

  “Of course I will,” General Davis said jovially. “This fort already has the finest colonel the army has to offer, but it still needs a general.”

  “See what I mean,” Wes said, slapping Gray on the back. “You missed the good part. Your father-in-law is leaving retirement and coming to live here.”

  ***

  1850

  Michaela couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so fidgety with excitement as she rubbed the white lace that circled the cuff of the blue gown her husband had finally relented and made for her. (T
hough she’d never tell him so, he was right about his skills, he was better with a needle and thread than anyone she knew. A fact that she was certain he wouldn’t want made public.)

  It had been a year since she and Gray had been transferred from Fort Gibson and away from everyone she’d come to hold so dear. But the transfer was inevitable. After three years of marriage, Gray forgot to wear the sheath more often than not and she’d conceived.

  Reluctantly, her father allowed for Gray to move to a safer fort where they could stay together. Though neither Pa nor Gray ever said it, she had a strange suspicion the two had put aside their past and formed an unbreakable bond.

  “Are you ready to go in and meet the newest Tucker?” Gray asked as their carriage rolled to a stop outside a two-story plantation house outside of Charleston where Wes and Allison had invited them for a weekend to celebrate the birth of their first child. Apparently, Wes forgot to wear a sheath too often, too, though she suspected that wasn’t entirely an accident.

  “I cannot wait to meet her!” She tightened her hold on their son and let Gray help her descend the carriage. She scanned the row of parked carriages, excitement building. “Do you know who else will be here?”

  Gray shrugged.

  She lifted a brow. “Gray.”

  “Come along, we wouldn’t want to be later than we already are.”

  “Late? The invitation didn’t give a time to arrive, just a date for when to arrive at Lowland Ridge.”

  “Oh, so then you don’t mind missing time with Allison.”

  “I never said that. I’m very excited to see her, even if it’s only for the weekend. I just didn’t want to intrude on their time with family, that’s all.”

  “They wouldn’t have invited us if we were,” Gray said, knocking on the door. “Although…”

  “Although what?”

  “I do believe this is his grandparent’s plantation.”

  Before she could respond, the front door swung open, revealing a grinning Wes.

  Throwing all sense of propriety to the wind, Michaela hugged him then stood back and gushed over how wonderful it was to be here while Gray shook his hand and simultaneously slapped him on the back.