by Stacey Kayne
"Thank you," she said, accepting the gifts. She tugged the hat onto her head then looked closer at the gloves. She ran a finger across the smooth beads covering the wide cuff. She'd never seen such a fancy pair of riding gloves. "They're so beautiful," she said as she pulled them on.
"We meet again soon."
"Oh, I doubt that," Rachell said, sure that once she reached California, she'd stay within its borders. "But thank you. I've enjoyed meeting you and your family."
"No. I thank you," Running Bear said, taking her hand in his. "You bring light to my camp and to my brother's spirit. My home will be your home."
Moved beyond words, Rachell clamped her arms around Running Bear's large body. His strong arms returned her hug without hesitation. Snow Flower was treated to an equally affectionate embrace.
"Your brave is impatient," Running Bear said, looking past her.
Rachell turned to see if Jed was coming and found her face pressed against his chest. "Jed! Someone should tie a bell around your neck," she snapped as she lifted her head to look up at him. His easy smile didn't help to regulate her pulse.
"Ready?" he asked with a low rumbling laugh.
"You shaved," she blurted out, stunned by his handsome, clean-shaven face. His smug grin made her regret the comment. Rachell stepped around him and walked toward his horse and two others loaded with supplies.
The man was full of himself. And why shouldn't he be? her mind retorted. She was the fool who fell to pieces every time he looked at her.
"I'll help you up," Jed said, coming up behind her as she approached Sage.
She noticed his stirrups had been shortened, for her. She smiled up at the large buckskin she'd befriended in the past week. "I'm riding Sage?"
"I wouldn't dream of putting your tender hide on that rowdy mustang," he said, motioning to the black horse a few yards away.
Jed watched Rachell glance at the horse then back at him with an impish glint in her eyes.
"Rachell-"
He was too late. She marched past him and grabbed the reins along with a fistful of the horse's black mane. She leapt from the ground as though she truly had magical powers, gracefully gliding onto the horse's bare back. The mustang sidestepped, dipping his head as if he had to adjust to her little bit of weight. Rachell tugged firmly on the reins and kicked her heels against the horse's sides. She shot across the meadow as though she'd been raised riding bareback on wild mustangs.
Jed tensed with annoyance at the rumbling sound of Running Bear's low laughter.
"I like Imp," Running Bear said, clamping a hand onto Jed's shoulder.
"So I heard." Jed glanced at his friend who was watching Rachell with eyes that shone with admiration, as were those of the crowd that had gathered to see them off. His own gaze was drawn back to the buckskin-clad woman confidently taking charge of a horse who still had a thing or two to learn about who was giving the orders.
Damn it all. Jed liked her too damn much. He shook his head as he walked toward his horse to lower the stirrups.
Finished, he stood beside Sage with his arms crossed over his chest. Rachell reined in beside him, her chin high, her sweet lips stretched into a tight smile.
Heaven's mercy, she'd never been more beautiful to him than she was now, full of confidence and sass.
"Show-off," he grumbled. "Where'd you learn to sit atop a horse like an Indian?"
"Back home. I practically lived in the stables."
Jed was unable to hold his scowl while watching her eyes shine with delight as she patted the horse's dark mane. He didn't want to like this woman, but she made it impossible. The more he saw of the real Rachell breaking free, the more he liked her.
She's Buck's twenty-three-year-old sister-in-law, he reminded himself for the hundredth time since he'd awakened with her sleeping soundly in his arms. Now that they'd have separate bedrolls, he wouldn't have a problem keeping his hands off her.
One more state, he thought as he stepped toward her horse. They only had to cross one more state. If they cut through the right passes, they could reach Shadow Canyon in little more than a week-or two.
"Hop down, honey. They're gonna rig him with some Ute tack."
"You don't think I can ride without a saddle?" she asked, her eyes narrowing with irritation.
He gripped her small waist and lifted her from the horse. "I don't think anything of the kind. I've no doubt you're a woman who can accomplish anything you set your mind to."
Green eyes sparkled, pink lips smiled.
Dear God. This was going to be a long trip. Undoubtedly the longest of his life.
Chapter Thirteen
Heaven help me. It's wide as a lake.
Rachell couldn't pull her eyes away from the vast stretch of moving water.
"I know the width is intimidating," Jed was saying as he swung back into his saddle after untying the lead to his pack horse. "But it's not too deep. The horses can get across."
Rachell's mind fully trusted Jed's assessment of the swollen river, but her body had thoughts of its own. She sat upon the horse she'd taken to calling Storm Cloud, clenching the reins so tighdy they were biting into her flesh through her leather gloves. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her pulse and find enough muscle control to urge Storm Cloud forward, but her legs had become stone.
Jed reined in close beside her. Her gaze stayed fastened on the swirling, rippling movements of the water streaming by.
"Sugar," he said with annoying tenderness, "why don't I put you in my saddle with me?"
"No. I can ride across," she insisted, talking mostly to herself. She fought the shivers in her spine as she tapped her heels against her horse. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the sight and sounds of the moving water. Suddenly, two large hands gripped her waist and she was straddling only air.
"Jed! I said-"
"I know what you said." He positioned her on his lap, facing his chest, her legs draping over his thighs. "I also know you have too much stubborn pride to ask me for help."
"I could have crossed it," she insisted, not wanting to give in, but knowing in the back of her mind, she'd have been struggling to draw a breath before her horse's hooves had even touched the water.
"Maybe I've been looking for an excuse to get you into my saddle," Jed said.
She quickly looked away. "You don't want me anywhere near your saddle." In the past few days he'd barely brushed her elbow. "You're just being sweet by trying to make me feel less of a coward."
Jed placed a gloved hand under her chin, tilting her face up, forcing her to meet his intense gaze. "The only sweet thing in this saddle is you, and you're not a coward, Rachell. Surely there's a reason you tense up around rivers."
"My brother drowned," she said.
"You were with him?"
She nodded, closing her eyes as the warm hand on her back helped to ease her shivers. "He wasn't far from me. He went under, and he never came up. He was twelve. I hear the rush of water, and I remember Isaac carrying Andrew from the river. They said he'd been caught by an undertow."
"How old were you?"
"Nine. It's silly to still be so frightened."
"We all have fears, Rachell."
She glanced up at the warm gray eyes gazing down at her. "You don't."
"The hell I don't."
"Name one."
"Rachell Doulan," he said with a slight smile.
Rachell couldn't help but return the smile. She stiffened as Sage started forward.
"Hold tight."
She didn't need to be told, already doing her best to crawl inside Jed's shirt.
"Relax." His hand moved across her back in long soothing strokes. "I've crossed this river thirty times or more and never once had to swim."
Rachell closed her eyes, trying to draw his courage into her body. Listening to the beat of his heart and the soothing sound of his voice helped to drown out the roar of the river, until Sage jarred to one side, dipping her foot into the cold water, shattering her
tranquility.
"Jed!"
"Shhh," he soothed, his arm holding her securely against him. "Sage knows what he's doing."
He must have, for a few moments later, Sage was cantering across dry land, with Storm Cloud and their pack horse following behind. They rode away from the river before Jed reined in.
"Was that so bad?" he asked, briskly rubbing her arms.
"Yes," she insisted, tilting her head up, expecting to find laughter in his eyes. His gentle smile sent a surge of warmth straight to her heart. Instinctively, she reached for his face and drew him to her lips.
Jed released a low groan, telling himself to pull away even as he lowered his head. It had been three days since he'd held her in his arms. One little kiss wouldn't hurt, right?
But one kiss called for another, and another, until their mouths were locked in a wild mating of tongues. His body shuddered as she rocked against him, the sweet heat of her feminine core burning him through the double-barrier of buckskin. His hands captured her hips, ceasing the torture, only to have her legs clench against his, pressing her tightly against his aroused body.
Jed bit out a curse. He grabbed her knees, prying her legs from his hips.
Stunned by her wanton behavior, Rachell pressed her face against his chest. They were sitting in a saddle, for goodness' sake!
"Sorry," she breathed into his shirt. "I don't know what came over me."
"Rachell, if you don't get out of this saddle right now, you're gonna find yourself being made love to on horseback."
She sat back, staring up at him with wide eyes. "We couldn't possibly."
Jed swore under his breath, lifted her away from his hungry body and lowered her to the ground. He didn't have a damn clue whether or not his threat were possible, but two more seconds of her rubbing against him, and he'd damn sure be willing to find out
"You won't have to worry about crossing any more wide stretches of water," he said, riding on, leaving Rachell to catch up. "We won't be looking at nothin' but dust and stone for a long while."
Rachell sat atop Storm Cloud, a few yards from the edge of the stone cliff where Jed surveyed an endless expanse of orange rock. His dark hair was tied back at the nape of his neck with a leather thong, giving a clear view of his sharp, masculine features. The warm glow of the setting sun illuminated his profile.
Sunlight glittered off the sleek black of his hair as he tilted his head back and poured a sparkling stream of water into his open mouth. Rachell sucked in a deep breath, watching his tongue skim across his lips to pick up the remaining drops of water.
"Rachell," he called out. "Your mouth has to be dry. Come take a drink."
Her mouth was dry, all right, but she didn't need water. She needed the moisture of Jed's mouth pressed to hers. She ached to say as much, but didn't dare. Mr. Jed was back to his original quiet, grim moods.
She dismounted and walked to the edge of the ridge to take the canteen he held out for her as his gaze moved over the dry landscape.
Rachell reached for the canteen then paused, seeing the breathtaking sight that had captured Jed's attention. Thin, rippling waves of rock rose up from the floor of the huge canyon below. Compressed layers of many shades of orange with streaks of white, pink and black rock created a colorful maze of slender flat-topped canyon walls.
"Oh my. How beautiful."
"Most folks rave about sunsets over the ocean, but I've not seen an ocean sunset that compares to the sun's descent from over these amber canyons."
Jed sank down, planting his handsome rear end on the dusty rock surface. "Have a seat, sugar," he said, his open palm patting the hard ground beside him. "You're about to see how the sun can shift and shape stone."
He passed her the canteen as she sat beside him. She took a swig of water then scanned the wide canyon and tall red cliffs directly across from them. Just as Jed had said, the landscape began to slowly shift, changing shape and color as the descending sun played tricks on their eyes with shadows and its evening glow.
Rachell murmured her amazement, forgetting all about her frustrations and the trials of the past week as she sat beside Jed, her feet dangling over the sharp cliff.
This wasn't the first time Jed had shared one of his favorite features of this magical landscape of living rocks. She was fascinated by his appreciation of the land as much as she was by the extraordinary natural formations of rocks he'd shown her in the past several days. She'd ridden through stone arches and seen gravity-defying towers, thin pillars of rock that held up enormous boulders.
"You certainly know your way around these stone mazes," she said, gazing out at the last half of the sun still visible on the horizon.
Jed made a rumbling sound of agreement.
"You must have traveled through here many times."
"I have."
"I suppose you've traveled all through those canyons and amber towers."
"Nope. That uncharted territory is as dry and dangerous as it is beautiful," he said in an easy tone. "You can't explore all that beauty without exploring the danger. Some things are just better to be admired from a distance."
Rachell looked up at Jed and found him watching her, his eyes turbulent, his expression stern. It was then she felt the warmth in her left arm.
She had relaxed against him.
She saw the underlying irritation his voice hadn't revealed. He would share the beauty of the sunset with her, but physical contact was prohibited. Rachell frowned and straightened away from him.
"Sorry. I didn't realize I was touching you."
Jed got to his feet. "Let's find a spot to set up camp," he said in a casual tone, as though she'd not said a word.
Rachell stood and walked back to her horse, wishing she could bury her emotions as efficiently as Jed apparently could.
Lying on her side of the fire, Rachell waited for sleep to put her out of her misery. She shifted beneath the thick bedding Running Bear had supplied, rolling onto her side. The blankets and heavy fur were nothing compared to the warmth of Jed's body. Jed sat on his own pile of blankets, on his own side of the fire, hogging his body heat for himself alone.
The selfish bastard.
They'd made camp and eaten supper in complete silence. How could he be so generous with her and so cold at the same time?
She had tampered with his resolve to keep his distance from her when she'd kissed him by the river all those days back and he'd been holding a grudge ever since. Never mind that he'd kissed her plenty of times before then.
Well, it wasn't fair! She would rather have him shout at her than endure his long bouts of silence. "You're mad at me," she said, unable to bear another second of the one-sided conversation in her mind.
"No, I'm not," he answered in a neutral tone, not bothering to meet her gaze.
Rachell shoved her blankets aside and sat up to glare at him. "Bullshit!"
Jed grinned as he glanced over the fire. "Didn't Miss Abigail teach you that swearing is unbecoming of a lady, or have I been that much of a bad influence on you?"
"You've been mad at me ever since I kissed you at the river," she continued, determined to talk about the tension between them which was eating at her insides. "I see the irritation in your expression every time I bump into you or smile at you. You think I'm teasing you."
"Are you?"
"No," she insisted. "No more than you tease me."
"I didn't start that kiss at the San Juan."
"I don't recall forcing you to kiss me back. I only meant to give you a light thank-you kiss and then your tongue was touching mine and I couldn't help but respond to you."
"Is there a point to this conversation?" Jed asked, certain he didn't need to be thinking about how his tongue danced with hers.
"Yes. You have no right to be mad at me over a kiss in which you were a willing participant."
"I'm not mad at you. I think you're the one who's mad at me."
"Well, maybe I am!"
Jed diverted his gaze from her fierce s
cowl. He knew full well where all her aggression was coming from. His own body was coiled with enough sexual tension to snap him in two. Rachell seemed to be having trouble containing hers. The exhaustion he could see in her eyes couldn't be helping matters. Neither of them had slept worth a damn since leaving Running Bear's camp.
Rachell expelled a heavy breath, capturing Jed's attention. Keeping his distance from her only seemed to fine-tune his senses to her every movement, sound, and scent. Nothing on this earth smelled as sweet. If she happened to brush any part of his body, fire pooled in his groin.
She poked a stick at the fire, sending tiny orange specks billowing up into the dark night air.
"If I wasn't with you," she asked a moment later, "would you go into towns?"
"Not unless I needed a blacksmith or supplies."
"There's got to be military forts around here somewhere. What about them?"
"Not unless I'm in need of a good fight or lookin' for some solitary time in a stockade."
Her face popped up. "What? Why would-"
"What are you trying to get at?" he interjected, not wanting to delve into his past altercations with an anti-Indian military. "Is this your subtle way of telling me you're tired of my company? You planning to seek out a cluster of town folk to abate your craving for decent conversation?"
"No," she said evenly. "I happen to enjoy your company."
"Could'a fooled me. A moment ago you were huffed up enough to walk over here and crack my jaw."
"Because I'm tired of you ignoring me," she said, pinning him with a hard gaze.
"Rachell, you are hardly a woman who can be ignored. If you weren't a woman who drew attention, you wouldn't be in the fix you're in now, or was Sumner the first man to try to get under your skirts?"
Her frown deepened as she dropped her gaze toward the fire. "No," she admitted. "Scanty costumes and stuffed corsets tended to have that effect on men, but I always made my disinterest in personal relations clear from the beginning, and... Titus was always nearby."
"If Sumner was so taken by you, he must have given you some indication."