Midnight Secrets

by Janelle Taylor

  Had Matt mentioned Stone in his letters to Ginny? Was duping him her real reason for impersonating his sister? Did she know about his lethal quest and inheritance? Those questions plagued him. If he asked them, would she be honest? His father had told him how she had escaped Fort Smith and his reach; she was cunning and brave. She’d come here alone and was doing fine by herself. His mother had urged him to—

  “Stone, why did you really come here? A letter could have said all you have.” Ginny was worried over his lengthy silence and impenetrable stare. “Does it take this long to decide how you feel? Was what I did so terrible that you can’t understand it or forgive me?”

  The Special Agent was skilled at tracking, outwitting, and exposing criminals. He was experienced at confronting troubles head-on with speed and accuracy and without fear. Somehow those traits deserted him tonight in Ginny’s presence. She looked innocent and vulnerable, honest and tormented. “A letter can’t look you in the eye when it talks. But even face-toface, you can’t always tell if someone is being honest with you; we’ve both proven that.”

  “Except for the false claims I made about my identity, I was myself with you,” Ginny assured him. “I don’t think the same is true of Steve Carr and Stone Chapman; you two are much alike yet greatly different. You’re the stranger in this room.” She didn’t stop to think it might be the short beard that made him look different, mysterious and almost intimidating. “Even if you can’t forgive me and don’t want a personal relationship with me now or ever, please let me hire you to help find my father.” I have to keep you here until you realize the truth. You love me and want me, you stubborn creature. I need time to prove it to you.

  “You want me to help you look for Mathew Marston? Why?”

  Ginny misunderstood why he stressed the “me.” “You’re a skilled tracker and agent. I don’t know how or where to search for him. I know to work on Frank Kinnon, but he’s getting too—It’s just so hard and scary working alone on a dangerous and enamored man. Do you despise me too much to help me? I’ll pay whatever I can.” Stay and work with me, Stone. Give us time together to get past this strain between us.

  Ignoring the evocative deception he had in mind, he admitted the truth. “I don’t hate you, Ginny. I haven’t stopped wanting you for a moment since the day we met in Georgia. Things have been crazy and it takes getting used to. I have to deal with all these changes and deceits. But they weren’t all your fault. I did my share of lying and tricking and provoking you to do more than you wanted to do. At the ranch when I thought you were my sister, I was tormented and stunned. I had to turn you against me, and I had to leave there fast. I made love to you on the trail because I wanted you and needed you. You, Ginny, not just your body. Shu, woman, don’t you realize how you get to me? I’ve never wanted or needed anything more than you, not even for my father to acknowledge me as his son. When I learned the truth about your two ruses, yes, I was angry. And I was disappointed, hurt, and confused. I’m sure you’ve felt the same way many times with me. I didn’t come here to punish you or toss you aside. I came because you were mine and I want you to be mine again… Why are you crying?” he asked as he moved closer and brushed away the tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “I was so afraid I’d lost you, more afraid than I’ve ever been in my life. I love you, Stone. I’ve tried not to press you because you’re so…”

  “Skittish as a horse near a branding iron?”

  His broad smile warmed her very soul. It was enticing and devilish and tugged at the corners of his wide mouth until it parted his lips and exposed even, white teeth. His dark eyes glowed with emotions that matched her own. She was no longer tired or afraid; her senses were alive and alert. He was utterly arresting, and she was susceptible to his charms. “I’m so glad you’re here. I want you so much. It’s been too long since you’ve held me and kissed me. Lordy, how I’ve missed you. Can you forgive me?”

  For almost anything. He pressed kisses to her brow, nose, and lips. As his mouth left hers, he murmured, “Surely you know you’re the only woman for me.” His bearded chin gingerly moved aside the robe so his tongue could taste the clean flesh of her shoulder and neck.

  “You’re the only man for me, Stone.” Ginny’s arms tightened around him as she sought surcease for a yearning deeper and stronger at that moment than her physical desire for him. Her heart was so full of love, joy, and relief that she feared it might burst. Her body soon blazed with fiery passion. She wanted all of him. She lacked the strength and wits to deny what they both craved, a union of bodies despite any consequences. She surrendered to his intoxicating kisses and stirring caresses.

  Stone longed to reveal everything within his heart and mind, but he couldn’t until he confronted Matt and held the entire truth within his grasp. His hold on her was too new and fragile to risk breaking with a stunning confession about their mutual target. Maybe she was right and there was another villain to blame for Clay’s death. If so, they would unmask him together. If Matt was innocent, it would be rash to expose his speculations and create new problems between them.

  As Ginny kissed and caressed him and changed his line of thought, it seemed to Stone as if she entreated his touch and response as proof of his feelings and claims, as a way of evoking reassurance from him. It was true, she was the only woman who could have reached him and saved him from the destructive ravages of the past. His hands peeled the robe off her body to reveal creamy skin that beckoned his lips and mouth. With expertise and enraptured by her, he stormed her bared flesh with deft hands and captivating lips as he explored her curvy regions and flat planes.

  Ginny hugged him possessively because she believed he was yielding his all to her. She unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, then trailed fingers over his iron-muscled body. She yearned to make tender and passionate love to him. Nature and her entire being demanded she respond to the urgent messages passing between and within them. She gave free rein to those emotions and unleashed every inhibition.

  Stone was enthralled by her urgency and his own. His head seemed as if it was spinning in a whirlwind. He parted them to hurriedly remove his boots and pants; as his weapons and hat were hanging over a chair nearby. He turned back to her to find her naked and her hand extended in a sweet invitation. Her hazel eyes beckoned. His fingers buried in her hair as his hand pressed her head closer to his to seal their mouths in a breathstealing kiss. His embrace tightened and he refused to release her for a long time. His needs and kisses became urgent and demanding but he tried not to rush and to be gentle. He groaned in rapidly mounting desire. “I said you were a dangerous distraction and irresistible temptation; I was right.”

  “So are you, my love.” Though smoldering with hot desire, she was dreamily aware of each kiss and caress, each sensation. She felt his hunger for her in his touch, heard it in his tone, and read it in those dark eyes that enslaved her.

  Stone realized her desire was as tangible and evocative as a physical caress. Weeks of starvation for her ignited his body to a flaming torch, fires that licked precariously at his resolve to take her with leisure. His molten body covered hers and shared its seething heat. He was almost afraid to caress and kiss her lest his control be vanquished and he succumb to its coaxing to take her with swiftness.

  He leaned over and tantalized her taut breasts with his lips while his hands drifted downward to stimulate her womanly center with love and tenderness. When his mouth returned to hers, their kiss fused into a savage and feverish bond. Their need so great, he eased between her thighs and slid himself within her, then halted to master his wavering control. Never had he taken a woman who enticed his manhood to seek bliss the moment he entered her body. She ensnared him with a speed and ease that nearly hurled him beyond reason and willpower. She smelled fresh as spring air and was as hot as the sultriest summer day.

  Ginny’s hands traveled from Stone’s sable hair to his bronzed torso. His body was beautiful, strong, and stimulating. She arched to meet his hips each time he withd
rew and entered her again. Her body responded to his instinctively, but what instinct didn’t supply, he did. She writhed as his lips, hands, and movements worked magic upon her. She tried to relax, to give him full mastery over the situation, and to abandon her will to his; she couldn’t stay still, not with him assailing her wits and body. The sensations he created were wonderful and intense. She tingled. She flamed. She wanted every instant of this union.

  Urged onward by his insistent desire, Stone increased his pace and deepened his kisses. She was holding nothing back from him and that filled him with happiness.

  Ginny felt her body quiver with suspense. Only Stone could quench this thirst for appeasement. “I want you and need you, my love.”

  “And you shall have me.” He carried them to the peak of pleasure where she stiffened a moment and moaned in ecstasy. Her grip on him tightened and she pressed herself closer to him. He swept her over the precipice and beyond…

  Blissfully sated, they didn’t break or release their hold on each other. They snuggled together as their bodies quieted and glowed in passion’s aftermath. They felt peaceful, warm, and happy.

  Ginny nestled her cheek to his chest. With eyes closed, she sighed dreamily. She felt his fingers wander through her mussed hair and over her damp flesh. She smiled when he placed light kisses over her face. She felt safe, tranquil, and fulfilled in his arms.

  Stone relaxed. Beyond any doubt, he loved her. He had taken other females but never made love to them; he knew the difference now. Ginny was totally satisfying in all ways. That was the secret to happiness and contentment: love. He rolled to his side and gazed at her. “Tell me everything about you again. I want to know every detail about my Ginny Marston.”

  It was nearing midnight when she finished relating her history from birth to this moment. “The last thing to tell you about Frank Kinnon is that I think he’s going to propose to me tomorrow night. How can I discourage or stall him without breaking my hold over him?”

  Stone knew he had to stay out of Kinnon’s sight and remain unshaven to conceal his presence from a man who could recognize and expose him. If she was right, Kinnon or someone else could be guilty rather than Matt. If that proved to be true, it would be wonderful because he wouldn’t have to hurt Ginny or risk losing her. “I don’t want him touching you or kissing-you, woman. I feel jealousy firing in me already. You saw your father’s pouch in the safe and those reports in the file. What else could you learn from him? He won’t confess he murdered two men. If you ask questions, he’ll get suspicious. It’s time to quit that job and stop taking chances.”

  “If I quit or suddenly change my behavior, he will get suspicious.”

  “Change your behavior? Have you been enticing him?”

  Ginny toyed with his beard. “Not exactly. It wasn’t necessary.”

  “I can believe that. You stole my heart and eye the first time we met.”

  She nibbled on his hairy chin. “Good, and I’ll never return them.”

  “Back to Kinnon. You go to work as usual tomorrow but don’t do anything to arouse his curiosity. I’ll figure out what to do about him while you’re gone. You may need to see him for dinner, let him propose, then ask for time off from work to consider his offer. That’ll give us the opportunity to think this out. I don’t like it, but it might be the only path open to us for now.”

  “Sounds clever to me. I’m sure it will work… Where will you stay?” she abruptly changed the subject.

  “Are you asking me to leave?” he jested, nipping at her lips.

  “It would expose us if you’re found here with me. Besides, this is dangerous. Babies can come from wild sport like this.”

  He cupped her face between his hands and locked their gazes. “Doesn’t matter at this point, Ginny love, if you’ll marry me soon.”

  Her eyes widened and her lips parted. “You’re asking me to

  Stone chuckled, then kissed her forehead. “You look shocked that I love you and want to marry you. I thought both were obvious by now.”

  “I am and I’m not,” she said amidst hugs and kisses.

  Stone chuckled again. “I take your reaction to mean yes.”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” she murmured in a happy rush. “Those are the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard. I love you, Stone Chapman.”

  “I love you, too, Ginny. We have to make sure nothing comes between us again to separate us.” The moment that caution left his lips he wanted to cringe in dread of what he must do.

  Her fingers teased his dark beard. “What could possibly go wrong, my roguish lawman? We love each other and have been honest with each other.”

  “Set a wedding date fast while I’m being brave,” he pretended to tease.

  “We should wait until after we locate Father.”

  I need to rope you quick, woman. “Why? We can get hitched as soon as possible. I don’t want any children of mine born like I was.”

  He seemed afraid of losing her, which touched her deeply. “You won’t lose me, Stone, so don’t worry about hurrying me to the preacher. I’m wearing your brand on my heart and body ‘ already. I want my father there.”

  “It doesn’t bother you I’m a…”

  “You aren’t a bastard. Your father has claimed you. You have his name.”

  “That wasn’t what I was going to say. Have you forgotten I’m part Indian, part Apache? Our children will carry Indian blood.”

  “I love you, Stone, every part of you. Nothing changes my feelings.”

  “You don’t know much about me, woman.”

  “Then tell me everything, just like I told you.”

  “You know how I was born and what my father’s denial did to me, and maybe some of that damage was my fault because I reacted so badly to the situation.” He reminded her of how he’d been adopted and had discovered Ben was his father through overhearing a quarrel with Stella. “As far back as I can remember, I was told to call my mother Aunt Nan to keep people from gossiping about her, from calling her an Indian whore. Her name, Nandile, means Sunflower; she was an Apache chiefs daughter.”

  “You’re the grandson of a chief? What a marvelous thing to tell our children and grandchildren. Be proud of that heritage, Stone.”

  “Father was captured by her tribe to exchange for arms and supplies to fight the white man. But Ben proved himself a great warrior and friend, so they gave him his freedom. When he left their camp, he took her with him. She’s been his lover for almost thirty years. Ben always said they couldn’t marry because people hated and mistrusted Indians, especially the feared Apaches, so it might ruin him. I always said I didn’t understand and called him a coward and weakling, but I suppose I see his point now. Love and desire can make people do crazy things; you’ve taught me that much. I loved you and wanted you, but I was too scared to tell you. Maybe the same was true with Father; he feared the repercussions. Since leaving home, I’ve witnessed the hostilities between the two sides. When you’re the one involved in a nasty situation, you can be blind to reality.”

  “That’s true, my love, but that’s how we learn and grow. We’re all human, so we have flaws and weaknesses. Sometimes we think problems are bigger than they are, and sometimes we make them larger so we’ll have an excuse to ignore them … How did you get your name? It’s so unusual.”

  “Mother named me Stone Thrower after my grandfather when he was a child. Ben kept the first part of it when he adopted me at age ten. I loved and trusted him and I believed until recently that he had betrayed me; I believed he used my mother and misused Stella, bad as she was, and she was bad, Ginny. I stayed at the ranch for years trying to punish him, but it only hurt both of us. I ran away at sixteen to find myself. I spent time with my mother’s people and was taught many warrior skills. But a half-breed didn’t fit in there, and I didn’t like raiding. I wandered into the white man’s world and did odd jobs but didn’t seem to fit anywhere. I was confronted by the problems he’d tried to explain to me and Mother.” He related many of the trou
bles he’d had in his early years as a result of being part Indian.

  “I even worked as a Texas Ranger for three years. But things got too hot with the Apaches and I couldn’t bring myself to help kill my mother’s people or push them onto some filthy and barren reservation. When the war started, I saw it as an escape from my problems, another chance to use and hone my skills. But I was captured by Union soldiers in April of ’63. I shouldn’t have joined the war; it wasn’t part of my world. But I was looking for something, something I didn’t understand, not until I met you, Ginny Marston.” He kissed her, then smiled. “I was trying to save a man’s life when I was taken prisoner. After months of torture and captivity, I was asked if I wanted to become a Galvanized Yankee and serve my sentence in the Army out West. In July, I was on my way to a new life.”

  Ginny brightened. “My father was, too. He was captured at Stones River at Murfreesboro in early ‘63. He served at forts in and near here. He stayed after the war and did prospecting. He didn’t want to return to Green Oaks and intrude on his family’s new life; they all believed he was long dead and that didn’t seem fair. Where did you go? What did you do?”

  “They guessed I was a half-breed, so they figured they could use me to help out with Indian problems. I worked as an interpreter, scout, guide, guard, and plenty of other things that I mentioned that night in camp. When the war ended, I did much the same things, but for pay then. I agreed to help the Yanks because I wanted to be free, to stay on the move, to learn all I could for survival, and to get away from such cruelties. Two years ago, I met Warren Turner from the Justice Department. He was impressed by some of my missions and asked me to become a Special Agent. The work is exciting and stimulating. I thrived on the danger, challenges, and victory. I craved and needed the importance and respect I received from my successes. I liked having white men forced to depend on a half-breed for their lives and safety, forced to follow one’s orders. Warren and I became friends; he’s my superior. I’ve sent him a letter of resignation. I plan to return to the ranch and live there, if that suits you, Ginny. You will be my wife soon. We’ll inherit it one day.”