She looked around and realized Jason had gone on without her, and she had no idea which of the three passageways he'd taken. Light from his lamp was no longer visible, and every passageway ended in darkness. "Mr. Colby?" Her voice echoed through the tunnels. He didn't reply. "Mr. Colby. Jason! Please answer." Still no response.
Feeling the first wave of panic, Jenny followed what she presumed was the main tunnel, but it ended in several crosscuts, and she saw no light in any of the tunnels. "Jason!" she called out. But when she raised her lantern to send more light down a tunnel, her knuckles struck the wall… And the lamp crashed to the floor and flickered out, plunging her into pitch-blackness unlike any she'd ever known.
"Jason, where are you," she called in a weak voice, while padding her palms along the damp, uneven surface of the rock wall. She quickened her steps, only to stumble over a pile of rocks. Inching her way around the rocks, she stepped onto what felt like boards. One gave way, and it was some moments before it made a crashing sound... Far... far... below. Too afraid to move, she crouched, motionless, on the boards, which, she realized, spanned the mouth of a vertical mine shaft. Darkness closed in around her, and she started shaking uncontrollably…
CHAPTER THREE
"Jenny! Answer me!" Jason’s voice echoed from the bowels of the mountain. Gradually the flicker of a lantern came into view, and moments later, light flooded Jenny's face and funneled down a mine shaft that seemed to have no bottom.
Jason gasped. "Don't move! The slightest motion and that crib board could break loose."
If Jenny hadn’t been so weak from fright, she might have screamed in terror, but her voice seemed trapped in her throat. Jason set his lantern down and eased around the mouth of the shaft. Propping his foot on the board, he curved his arm around her waist, held her tightly to him, and slowly, cautiously, backed off the board. When they were safely away from the mouth of the shaft, he said, "What in hell were you doing? I told you to stay close behind me."
Feeling as if her legs would buckle, Jenny braced her hands against Jason's chest and met bare flesh where his jacket parted open. Bands of muscles bunched beneath her touch, and his heart beat hard and fast against her palm. "I stopped to see the gold," she said.
"Damn it woman! You could've fallen down any number of vertical shafts. This place is riddled with them." The low lamplight made Jason's face look fiendishly diabolic. His eyes burned with a golden glow, and the light cast long jagged shadows above his winged brows. He could be Satan arisen from hell, a cold damp hell but for the warmth of his chest against her palms and his hot breath against her forehead. Her breathing quickened, her heart began to pound, and as she looked up at him, all she could bring herself to say was, "I'm sorry."
As the reality of how close she’d come to falling to her death settled in, she started to shake. At first it was a slight quiver in her shoulders, then her whole body began to tremble and she couldn’t stop shivering.
“Ah Jenny,” Jason said. He took her in his arms and held her, and she slid her hands around his waist and laid her head against his bare chest. Enfolded in his embrace, she had no desire to be free. Then in a movement so slow Jenny was barely aware of it, Jason lowered his head, his hand came up to lift her chin, and he pressed his lips to hers. She tightened her arms around him, and as the kiss deepened, he flicked his tongue over hers, stroking it, dueling with it, until her whole being was filled with the musky male taste of him. He pulled her closer, and his body began to move against hers in a timeless tableau of sensual awakening, until her senses were drugged with the need for him. It was shameless, she knew, but she didn't want him to stop… Until his hand came up to cover her breast. It was some moments before she broke the kiss, nudged out of his arms, and turned her back to him. Wanting to dismiss the untimely episode, along with her willing response, she said, “I need to get back.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the curve of her neck. “There’s still more to see here,” he said, his hands moving up her rib cage.
“Don’t!” She unclasped his hands from around her and turned. The intense, all-consuming look on his face scared her, and excited her. But this whole unplanned incident had to stop. “You clearly took advantage of me in a moment of weakness," she said.
“You gave no sign that you wanted me to stop,” he replied.
“I was badly shaken. Now, I want to go back.”
"But we're not through in here yet. I intend to show you a real vein of gold ore.”
“I’m not interested,” Jenny said. “I just want to go back.” But from the firm set to Jason's mouth, and the determined look on his face, she knew she wouldn’t get her way.
She was right. Jason picked up the lantern, and said, “Since you’re set on opening the Dusty, you need to know what gold ore looks like. So you have two choices. Find your way back in the dark, or hold my hand and go with me." When she didn't respond, he turned and started down the tunnel. Darkness quickly closed in around her.
"Wait!" she called after him. He stood motionless while she caught up and took his hand. The contact sent a shiver rushing through her. She tried to convince herself that the shiver was from fear of falling down a mine shaft, but she knew she was lying. That coupled with the knowledge that Jason Colby was taking her further into the depths of the mountain sent a surge of dangerous excitement coursing through her.
But as they continued on, her breasts begin to fill with milk, and she realized she’d been gone far longer than expected. "I've got to get back," she said. "I need to feed Lily."
Jason ignored her appeal. "It's just at the end of this drift."
"You don't understand. I must get back."
Jason tightened his hand around hers. "We don't have far to go... a few minutes away."
Jenny was beginning to feel decidedly uncomfortable as her breasts continued to fill. "I've seen quite enough of this mine," she clipped. "I have no desire to see any more."
"I told you, I'm going to show you what gold ore looks like."
"All I want is to feed my daughter," Jenny insisted. As she thought of Lily, milk began to flow, but Jenny could do nothing but follow Jason, because she didn't dare release his hand. There was no way on God's earth she could find her way back.
A few minutes later, Jason held up his lamp and pointed to a bronze-yellow streak. "This is calverite, a telluride that contains as much as forty percent gold."
Jenny's breasts were so painfully engorged with milk, all she could think to say was, "Fine. Can we go back now?"
“I don’t understand," Jason said. "You plan to open the Dusty but you have no interest in learning what you’ll be looking for.” He turned to face her, but when he lowered his lamp, he stared in shocked surprise.
Jenny looked down, and to her horror, saw that her bodice was soaked with milk. Flustered, she said, "Oh… my… I mean… I told you I needed to feed my daughter." She blushed deeply, knowing her cotton bodice was near transparent and there was nothing she could do. The thought of Jason’s eyes on her made her body burn. She caught sight of the masculine bulge straining at his crotch and her face flushed hot.
Was he contemplating the marital act? With her? What an incredibly abhorrent idea, lying naked in his arms while he did all the things men did with women. The ache grew stronger. She snapped her eyes up, and when she met his intense gaze, her cheeks felt as if on fire.
Eyes holding hers, Jason said, "It seems neither of us have control over our bodies.”
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jenny snapped, attempting to dismiss the embarrassing episode, including their deeply passionate kiss and her shameless response.
Jason looked at her soberly. "You've been a married woman, Jenny. You know what happens when a man is ready for a woman."
“Well, yes, but I’ve done nothing to make you... To make that... happen.”
"You kissed me.”
"I did not kiss you. You kissed me."
"Not only did you kiss me back," he
said, "but you clearly enjoyed it."
"I most certainly did not! Nor did I kiss you of my own volition. I simply acted on impulse after being terrified of falling down a mine shaft to certain death. And you are crude and vain to even suggest that I had anything to do with—" her gaze dipped to the bulge in his pants and quickly rebounded "—anything.”
"I didn't suggest it. You did."
"I did not. And I'd appreciate it if you would not bring up the... incident, again."
"I didn’t bring it up, you did when you claimed you’d done nothing to arouse me."
"I only brought it up to make it clear to you that I’m not the kind of woman who—" she bit her lip to stop its trembling.
"Deliberately arouses a man for her own pleasure?” Jason completed her sentence. “I already know that. But it wouldn't matter if you were. As I said before, I'm not in want of female companionship. But when a woman sends a man such strong signals—"
"I sent you no signals! No signals at all!"
"There’s no question where your thoughts had strayed, Jenny," he said. "You know it, and so do I. Now let’s get back so you can feed my godchild." He captured her hand in his, turned and started down the long tunnel back.
Jenny stared at his broad back, determined to dismiss from her mind the passionate kiss, her heated response, and his vain insinuations. All she wanted was to be out of this maze and away from Jason Colby and the unwanted effect his presence had on her.
By the time they returned to Jenny’s cabin, Lily was squalling so loud they could hear her clear outside. Jenny rushed into the cabin while unfastening her blouse. Taking Lily from Wilma, she lowered herself to the rocker and opened her chemise, and Wilma left. While Lily nursed, Jenny tried to focus on life prior to Jason Colby. But before long, thoughts of his kiss and his bare chest and muscular torso and the bulge in his snug pants filled her mind.
She could almost feel the smooth hard muscles of his chest beneath her palm, his tongue flicking over hers, his hand caressing her breast, until she’d returned his kiss with unrestrained passion. Never had she felt such hedonistic magnetism toward a man...
And never had she wanted it less. She hated the effect he had on her, hated how she couldn’t hide from him the desire he stirred in her. Perhaps it had something to do with the vulnerability of being a woman alone in the world and having recently given birth, and the pure animal instinct of wanting a mate for protection. She’d bonded with the first male to stir her blood. And there was no question, Jason Colby had done just that. He represented everything masculine… Every musky, sleek-muscled, bronze-skinned inch of him. His maleness oozed out of every pore. He exuded strength and confidence. His take-control demeanor was the epitome of male arrogance. And today, with Jack Bishop, he’d offered his protection as well—the dominant male who intended to stay leader of the pack. And she was the female he’d been protecting.
An almost forgotten sense of wellbeing settled over her, and for the first time since Lily’s birth, she felt at peace. Quietly contented, and feeling the warm cozy weight of Lily in her arms, she closed her eyes and began rocking back and forth while softly humming a little lullaby... Rocking and humming... rocking and humming... rocking and humming...
The floor near the front door creaked. She opened her eyes and saw Jason standing in the doorway, watching her, his hat turning slowly between his hands. In the rugged angular features of his face flickered an expression tender and poignant, and something she couldn’t define—perhaps bittersweet longing? Realizing her breast was exposed to his view, she adjusted her chemise to cover herself. Yet, nothing about Jason’s expression was lustful. What she saw was more the look of a devoted husband for his wife and child. And she realized how much she longed to have someone to share these moments with, to share the thrill of her baby’s first smile, or the joy of a new tooth, or the delight of a wobbly first step.
Jason must have sensed her longing because he walked over and crouched beside her. He raised a finger and stroked Lily’s downy head. Lily stopped nursing and looked directly at him. One corner of his mouth lifted in a little half-smile, and as his finger slowly traced the curve of Lily’s cheek, Jenny saw a muscle twitch in Jason's face, as if it took extreme effort to restrain the path of that finger. She rested her head against the high back of the rocker and watched him. Golden lamplight danced in his eyes and played about his lips as he looked at Lily, and when Lily gave a little soft sigh of satisfaction and looked up at him, the little smile that had been tugging at Jason’s lips broadened into a grin of pure joy.
Then his mouth flattened, the muscles in his jaw tightened, and he stood.
And the pleasure Jenny had seen on his face moments before had vanished.
“Next Saturday I’ll take you to the Dusty,” he announced.
Attempting to dismiss the hollow feeling inside that he was leaving so soon, Jenny said, “Wilma will be away visiting her sister so I’ll have to bring Lily.”
Jason gave that little half-smile, positioned his hat on his head and left.
And Jenny had the terrible awareness that she didn’t want him to go, that if his finger had left Lily’s cheek to tuck beneath her privacy cloth and trail up her breast she wouldn’t have stopped it. The thought that he’d so completely disarmed her troubled her deeply. But what disturbed her most was that he’d done it, she was certain, without knowing he’d done so.
He’d also revealed a sensitive inner core she was certain few people, if any, knew. And now she wanted to know the man on a deeper level, one that could unlock her heart and leave her exposed and vulnerable.
***
Jason stood a short distance from Jenny’s cabin, his shotgun aimed at the ground behind Jack Bishop. “Hold it right there, Bishop,” he said to the man's broad back. “That’s as far as you go.” Jenny peeked around the front door of her cabin. “Get back inside, Jenny, and shut the door,” he ordered. She backed away, but the door remained ajar.
Bishop glanced back over his shoulder at Jason. “I have business with Mrs. MacDonald.”
Jason raised his gun. “She’s my woman now and I say you don’t. Now ride out of here and you’ll live to see another day. But if you come near her again, I’ll see you hog tied and hanging by a frayed rope from the nearest cliff. Have I made myself clear?”
Bishop turned to face him, and said, “She won’t be your woman when she hears what I have to tell her about you and your connection with her husband.”
Jason leveled his gun at Bishop’s belly. “You’ll never get that chance."
Bishop’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe she won’t hear it from me, but she will hear it. Your days with her are numbered, Colby, so you’d better keep her bed warm while you can.” He shoved his hat on his head, launched himself onto his horse and rode off.
Jenny stepped outside. Fists against her hips, eyes flashing with ire, she said, “Who do you think you are calling me your woman? I most certainly am not your woman and never will be. Have I made myself clear?”
“You’ll be my woman as long as you remain in Colby,” Jason said, walking toward her, “and the only way anyone can change that is by putting a bullet between my eyes.”
As he approached, Jenny backed into the cabin, the defiance on her face turning to uncertainty. “What do you intend to do?" she said, "claim me like tribal booty?”
“I intend to lay it out so you'll understand how it is around here.” Jason shut the door behind him, rested his shotgun against the doorframe and hung his hat on a peg. When he made no further move toward Jenny, that little spark of defiance returned. She lifted her chin. “How is it that a man can simply announce who his woman is and make it so?”
Jason willed himself to keep his distance, not take her in his arms and kiss her the way he had in the mine. That kiss still burned on his lips, and the feel of her in his arms taunted him day and night. But there were other issues now, complex issues involving a past he could not put aside. A past he was certain Bishop knew about. And there wa
s no way in hell he'd draw Jenny and Lily into it. For starters, he'd put the fear of Jack Bishop in her.
After relaying to Jenny an incident when a girl from the Golden Fleece was raped by two of Bishop’s men while Bishop stood by and did nothing, Jenny folded her arms and said, “Why weren’t Jack Bishop and his men prosecuted?”
“The girl was too terrified to talk," Jason replied. "Make no mistake, protecting what’s yours at the point of a gun is the only law around here. If Bishop and his men think you're my woman, they’ll stay away because they know I’ll shoot them if they come near you.”
Jenny eyed him with distrust. “Why are you so set on protecting me?" she asked. "There are other women here, but you haven't claimed them,”
“There’s only one mother with an infant in Colby," Jason replied, "and I intend to keep both safe.”
“I don’t believe that’s why you sent Jack Bishop away," Jenny countered. "What does he know that you’re so desperate to keep from me, that you’d claim me as your woman and threaten to kill him if he comes near me?”
Jason had anticipated the question and didn't intend to give her a straight answer. If Jenny knew the truth about the man who'd fathered her child she'd never come to terms with it. It was a dark legacy for the man to leave to his daughter. He also intended to keep his own past buried. The ten years in age separating him and Seth even allowed him to keep it from Seth. But looking back at his boyhood he had no regrets. The challenges he'd faced made him stronger, better able to cope. He'd also learned to live life for the moment. He toyed with it, gambled with it, put it on the line on occasion. But he'd never give his heart to a living soul.
But that wasn’t what gnawed at his gut. He couldn’t put out of his mind the image of Jenny with Lily at her breast. The sight of Jenny's serene face as she held her babe in her arms while rocking and humming her wistful tune forced him to acknowledge the gaping void that had always been present in his own life, and which he’d doggedly denied. He’d never looked into the face of a loving mother or felt the warmth of her arms around him. And he’d never peered into innocent trusting eyes and experienced the joy of that tiny tendril of love making its way into his heart and wrapping itself around it. If it set him on a path of possessive protectionism over mother and child, then so be it.
Colby's Child Page 5