Untamed Fire

by Donna Fletcher

  “The man is dead,” Rafael informed him.

  “Then I owe you a favor, my friend.”

  “Not necessary, Esteban, just be gentle with her. As I said, she has been through much.”

  “Thank you,” Rosalita whispered to Rafael before walking away from him toward the dark figure.

  As she approached a hand reached out and quickly snatched her into the mouth of darkness.

  Gaby shivered fearful for Rosalita and Rafael hugged her to him.

  “Who is he?”

  “A very dangerous man.”

  “Then she isn’t safe with him,” Gaby said, upset that she allowed Rosalita to go off with such a man.

  “It was Rosalita’s choice.”

  “You throw my words back at me,” she said with a smile.

  “I speak the words of a wise woman,” he teased.

  “Yes, you do,” she agreed, but her smile quickly faded. “Do you think we’ll hear from her?”

  “I think she has learned much from you, and I think Esteban is in for a surprise.”

  “Then somehow she will contact us.”

  “Most definitely,” he assured her. “Now, let’s get some rest.”

  Gaby snuggled in his arms under the blanket.

  “Rafael?”

  “Yes, querida, what is it now,” he said with a yawn.

  “What did you mean I bite... hard?”

  Rafael laughed. “You are too curious for your own good.”

  “You don’t wish me to be?”

  “No, no, querida, I wish you to stay curious, especially about such intimate things,” he said and hugged her tightly while whispering in detail what he had meant.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Carriages had begun arriving the day before. The hacienda was alive with neighbors and friends. It was a strange mixture of rancheros and peasants, but all was going well. All were happy to attend and help celebrate the wedding of Don Rafael to Gabriella Alvardo.

  “What are you doing here?” Lupe scolded as Gaby entered the cookhouse.

  “I don’t know where I belong,” she complained and plopped down in a chair. She reached for a sugar cake fresh and warm.

  “You belong in your room, getting dressed for your wedding.”

  Gaby licked the sugar crumbs from the tips of her fingers. “I can’t stand my room. Dona Maria is busy ordering everyone about and the dress they want me to wear...” She shook her head in annoyance.

  “You are being stubborn. The dress is beautiful. I saw it. Any woman would be proud to wear it.”

  “It’s too much lace,” she complained again and reached for another sugar cake.

  Lupe swatted her hand, but missed. “You’re going to get fat.”

  “Of course I am, the baby will see to that,” Gaby said with a smile and popped the cake into her mouth. “Besides,” she continued between munches, “I haven’t eaten since noontime yesterday.”

  Lupe quickly wiped her floured hands clean. “I will fix you something. You should not wait so long to eat.”

  “Nonsense, you’re busy. I’ll wait and eat after the wedding,” Gaby protested.

  “No, it is best you eat now; some cheese, ham, and bread with a big glass of cold lemonade.”

  “Well, if you insist,” Gaby said, unable to resist the tempting food.

  Lupe fixed a plate and placed it in front of her. “Now enjoy and then you will go get dressed.”

  Gaby picked up a fat piece of cheese. “I wish Rosalita was here.”

  “It would have been nice,” Lupe agreed.

  “I still haven’t heard from her.”

  “It has only been a week, give her time.”

  Gaby nodded, worried for Rosalita’s safety and feeling guilty for not being able to keep her from returning to such a dangerous man. It wasn’t fair and she wished she could have done more to protect her. “I suppose, but she was concerned about her father. I was sure I’d hear immediately from her.”

  Lupe crossed herself. “It is a shame Don Eduardo died and his daughter Louisa in Spain, not even knowing of her father’s death. Terrible. Terrible.”

  “Don Felipe will explain it all to her upon his return.”

  Lupe shook her head sadly. “Poor Don Felipe. He couldn’t believe how deceitful his wife really was. But I think what hurt him the most was learning that you and Rosalita weren’t his daughters. He seemed so sad when he kissed you good-bye.”

  “I felt sorry for him,” Gaby said. “I hope his return to Spain will find him some happiness.”

  Lupe saw the girl’s plate was empty. “Now that your stomach is full, go get dressed.”

  Gaby didn’t move. “I don’t belong,” she insisted with a shake of her head.

  “You belong to me.” The voice was strong yet tender.

  Gaby looked up at Rafael as he entered. Her breath caught in her throat. He was so handsome. His white shirt lay open at the neck. She’d love to bury her face there and tickle him with her tongue until he pulled her away and made fierce and furious love to her. She tingled at the thought.

  “Mother is looking for you. Actually, she has the whole house staff searching for you.”

  “You aren’t mad?” she asked, having spent the last day attempting to avoid everyone, including Rafael.

  “No, I’m not mad,” he assured her and held out his hand. “Come, I will escort you back to your room.”

  Gaby accepted his hand and with a quick thanks to Lupe they left.

  “What’s troubling you?” he asked, wrapping her arm around his and bringing her hand to his mouth to kiss her fingers.

  Gaby stopped walking. His kiss had tickled her skin, sending gooseflesh up along her arm. She studied him for a moment; his large frame, his powerful stance, his sharp, handsome features.

  “I love you, Rafael, but do I dare marry you?”

  Ordinarily he would have grown angry instantly, but he had come to understand, if only partially, Gaby’s kind and caring nature.

  “Why wouldn’t you dare marry me?” he asked.

  Gaby spoke slowly, almost hesitantly. “I am different from the women you have known.”

  “This I definitely agree with,” he teased with a smile.

  “No, really, Rafael. I will always manage to do or say something I shouldn’t. I may even embarrass you on occasion.”

  “Only on occasion? I am certain it will be on a daily basis.”

  “Rafael,” she cried, pulling her hand free. “I’m serious.”

  He reached for her hand taking hold of it once again. “So am I. Now listen and listen well,” he said in his usual stern tone. “I love you. I had once thought myself incapable of ever loving. You proved me wrong. I had once thought marriage was for furthering wealth and land. You proved me wrong. I had once thought all women were the same. You proved me wrong. I marry you because I love you and wish to spend the rest of my life with you, raise a family with you, grow old with you, and die with you. Now, how many times am I going to have to repeat that to make you understand?”

  Gaby smiled that smile Rafael loved so very much.

  “How about every day? No, maybe twice a day? No, definitely three times a day.”

  “And how often will you tell me you love me?” he asked and pulled her up against him.

  “Every hour and every minute of the rest of our lives,” she whispered and touched his lips in a feather light kiss.

  Rafael groaned and brushed his lips across hers. “Don’t do this, querida, or you will be late getting dressed.”

  She persisted as he knew she would.

  “Take me to the arbor,” she murmured near his ear and playfully bit his earlobe.

  “You’re asking for it,” he whispered.

  “No, Rafael,” she breathed heavily. “I’m begging for it.”

  He grabbed her hand and turned, almost dragging her along.

  “You’ve found her!” Dona Maria yelled when she turned the corner and found them coming out of the kitchen. “Finally, now she
can get dressed.”

  Gaby grinned upon hearing the oaths Rafael mumbled as he reluctantly deposited her in front of his mother.

  Dona Maria whisked her away and Gaby only had time to turn and wave to Rafael, who petulantly refused to return the gesture.

  ~~~

  “You look like a princess,” Elena said with tears in her eyes.

  Gaby had to agree, and she felt like one. Her delicate wedding gown was pure white lace which conformed to every curve of her body until it touched her hips. There it spread out in layers upon layers of lace. Her dark hair was braided and fastened to the back of her head. A large white ivory comb was tucked in at the top while a white lace mantilla sat over it just brushing her forehead, yet trailing down the back of her gown to touch the floor.

  Gaby picked up the front of her gown and glanced down at her feet. They were tucked in white slippers.

  “Come, you must not keep the guests waiting,” Elena said, hurrying her along.

  Gaby arrived at the mission in the carriage with her father. Rafael had insisted they marry there so all could attend and also because it was where she had begun her life. The generous thought warmed her and forced a tear to her eye.

  Her father patted her hand and led her into the church.

  It was ablaze with candles. Tall wooden candle holders the size of a man stood beside each pew and lit her way down the aisle. Pink, white, and red flowers spilled over in baskets and clay pots and decorated the area around the altar.

  Juan rushed up to her and shoved a bouquet of white flowers in her hands. It was made of a mixture of wildflowers that grew in her mother’s garden and the gardenias that grew in Dona Maria’s garden. The blending of both touched her heart and brought another tear to her eye.

  “Come,” her father said, “everyone waits.”

  All stood and watched as she walked down the aisle to the front of the church to a waiting Rafael.

  Gaby’s heart caught in her throat when she saw him, he stood tall and proud. His stance reminded her of the very first time they had met, the day she had borrowed Bella. She felt a tear slip from her eye.

  He wore mostly black. The short jacket and dark pants were trimmed along the arms and legs with a black corded braid. A black ruffled shirt sat beneath and a red sash circled his trim waist. He looked magnificent.

  Her eyes stayed on him, glancing for only a moment to her mother and brothers and sisters sitting in the front pew to the left. They all smiled at her. Her father kissed her on the cheek and placed her hand in Rafael’s.

  Rafael took it and slowly pulled her toward him. He leaned over kissed her tear away and whispered, “I love you.”

  Gaby felt her knees grow weak.

  Rafael slipped his arm around her and guided her to the front of the altar where the padre stood. They knelt before Padre Pablo and the service began.

  ~~~

  The hacienda was lit bright with torches. Music played gaily, people danced, talked, ate, drank, laughed, and enjoyed every minute of Rafael and Gaby’s wedding celebration.

  Rafael remained constantly at his wife’s side, being ever attentive and driving her completely wild. A kiss to her cheek, a hand gently placed at the base of her neck, a scorching look, a slow lick of his lips; he was intentionally flaring her passion.

  “More wine?” he asked, wrapping his arm around her waist as he stood behind her.

  She leaned back against him. “No, I’ve had enough, too much will make me sleepy.”

  He took the half-filled glass from her hands. “We don’t want that,” he said and placed it on the table beside him.

  She watched the people dancing, content to lean upon her husband and feel his hard body pressing into hers. She quivered as his hand glided to her stomach and rested protectively against it.

  “He gives you no trouble? You feel well?”

  His sincere concern filled her with joy. “He gives me no trouble... unlike his father.

  Rafael laughed softly. “I give you trouble?”

  Gaby purposely wiggled her backside hard against him. “You intentionally tempt me.”

  “I didn’t think you noticed.” His whisper was heavy with desire.

  “I noticed, Rafael. How could I help not to? Your touch fires me and makes my body burn for you.”

  “Does your body burn now?” he asked and nibbled down the back of her neck.

  She shuddered. “It scorches with the want of you,” she answered softly and rested her hand over his, pushing it harder against her belly. “Can’t you feel the heat?”

  “I feel it, but I want to taste it. Come,” he ordered and pulled her to follow behind him.

  “The guests,” she said as they hurried under the arches of the long colonnade.

  “Expect us to leave.”

  Rafael entered his room, swinging her in after him and closing the door. He released her and turned the metal lock. A loud click echoed through the room.

  Gaby felt a twinge of apprehension. “I’m you prisoner?”

  “Forever,” he said and removed his jacket, tossing it across the chair, his shirt and sash followed.

  “The music, we can hear it,” she said, pulling the mantilla from her head as well as the comb.

  “Free your braid,” he ordered gently.

  Gaby did as he said, shaking her hair to swing free as she finished.

  Rafael walked toward her then stopped. “The music, do you hear the tune they play?”

  Gaby smiled and nodded. “I danced to that tune at the Holy Day Festival. The first night you made love to me.”

  “Will you dance for me... only me?”

  The thought frightened and thrilled her all at once. “Yes, I will dance for you.”

  Rafael sat by the window and waited; his eyes intent upon her.

  Gaby removed her slippers and walked closer to him, picking up the white lace fan that someone had presented her with as a wedding gift. She placed one hand on her hip and with the other snapped open the fan and swung it to rest beneath her eyes. With her smile hidden, she began to dance.

  She swayed temptingly to the music, allowing the provocative tempo to take her away. She fluttered the fan down her body seductively, touching the tips of her breasts, her belly, and lower. Then she moved it up once again.

  Her mouth became dry and, without thinking, she ran her tongue slowly over her lips, wetting them, then biting down on her lower lip as she gave thought to her movements.

  She danced like she had never danced before. Her steps were sure and graceful, full of passion and desire, for they were meant to stir Rafael’s blood and her own.

  Her breathing grew heavy, her body heated, and when the music stopped, she collapsed at his feet.

  He reached down and lifted her chin. “You will dance like that for no else but me.”

  “Si, Don Rafael,” she teased.

  He picked her up and carried her to the bed, discarding their clothes in minutes.

  He covered her body with his. “I can’t wait, querida, you fired my blood. I want you now, fast and furiously, and then,” —he teased with a bite to her neck— “I want you slowly and lazily.”

  His promised words fueled her passion. “I’m yours in whatever way you want me.”

  “Whatever way?” he repeated with a smile.

  “Whatever way, for tonight I will not be able to get enough of you. My desire for you is beyond reason.”

  He teased her lips with faint kisses. “You’re wicked. Do you have any idea what your dancing and words have done to me?”

  Gaby wiggled temptingly against him. “I can feel what they have done.”

  He took her hands in his and stretched them above her head. “You have a burning, untamed fire in your blood, querida,” he said and slipped contentedly inside her.

  She accepted him with pleasure and smiled as she nipped at his lower lip. “Only for you, Rafael... only for you.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

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  Coming soon Rosa’s story... Renegade Love.

  Rosalita Mendez pulled with all her might to retrieve the water bucket from the community well. Her arms ached as did her back. She felt the stretch of each muscle with every yank of the rope, the sweltering heat making the laborious chore that more difficult.

  “Blisters again,” she sighed as the hemp line slid roughly along her hands.

  “Rosa, you complain when your job is so easy?” Marinda Chavez teased with a hearty laugh.

  A sad smile graced the delicate features of Rosa’s face. And even with wisps of her silk brown hair falling along her brow and a trace of perspiration touching her slender neck, her natural beauty still shined through.

  Marinda shook her head and spoke half in jest and half truthfully. “I hate you for being so beautiful.”

  Rosa opened her mouth to protest.

  “Don’t bother to deny it. Every woman in St. Lucia comments on your lovely face. And every man cannot keep their eyes off you. Your skin is clear and perfect like the angelic carved statues in the church and your body...” Marinda shook her head again. “What I wouldn’t give to be petite and slender like you.”

  “You are far from fat and besides Paco loves you just the way you are,” Rosa said after hefting the heavy water-filled bucket to sit on the sill of the well.

  With the mention of her new husband, Marinda beamed. “He tells me that I am a beautiful goddess who he will worship forever.”

  This time a happy smile appeared on Rosa’s face. She was truly pleased that her friend had found love. Paco Chavez had followed Marinda around like a love-starved puppy for months, claiming that he would wait for her forever. Forever hadn’t been long away. Paco’s irresistible charm had swept the robust Marinda off her feet, and they had wed two months ago.

  Marinda looked around the well at the other women. She waited until some of the older women walked away, their water jugs full, and the few younger women who lingered were deep in conversation before she whispered to Rosa, “I’m glad Paco wed me when he did. The search still goes on.”

  Rosa involuntarily shuddered. “Don Alejandro has still not found a wife for his son?”