“What?”
She gave him a daring look, a new boldness in her eyes. “I said I’ll race you. If you catch me and manage to pull me off my horse, you’ve won!” She charged away, and Colt sat there a minute, wondering what she was up to. What was this sudden change in conversation? She was like a crazy woman today, and she had turned his feelings a thousand different ways.
He watched her, the way her bottom fit her saddle, the way her hair blew in the wind. Her daring look stirred his pride, and the race was on. He kicked Dancer into a hard run, manly desires stirring in him at the challenge of catching her. He held the reins with one hand and smashed out his cigarette against his saddle horn with the other, tossing the stub aside and leaning into the ride. “Get up there, Dancer,” he shouted to the horse.
Dancer’s mane flew up into Colt’s face as he galloped up and down more sandhills. He noticed Sunny veer to the west rather than north, and he turned Dancer, taking a cut between two more sandhills and emerging near Sunny as she came around the end of one hill. She screamed and laughed when she saw him, and now he knew he could catch her.
He came closer, the determination to reach her now a burning need. It went against all reason, was totally foreign to all sense of maturity. They were like children for the moment, and yet not children at all. The emotions it stirred in him to think of catching her were dangerous, yet he could not stop himself. He came ever closer, and now he was on her!
Sunny screamed when she felt his strong arm come around her. Suddenly, she was free of her horse and sitting sideways on Dancer, a powerful arm holding her. She covered her face and laughed as Colt slowed his horse. “Now you are my captive,” he teased.
She threw her head back and faced him, and both of them sobered. For a moment they sat there breathing heavily from the ride, watching each other.
“We had better go catch your horse,” he finally told her.
“We’ll find it later,” she answered. She moved her hands to touch his powerful arms, ran her fingers over his bare shoulders. “Tell me, Colt. What does an Indian do with his captive?”
For a moment everything went silent for him. Nothing existed but the utterly beautiful woman in his arms, her tempting mouth, her open blouse, her blue eyes, her golden hair. He moved a hand to rest against the flat of her belly. “He takes her to his tipi and makes her his slave,” he answered, his voice gruff with passion.
She touched his face. “That’s what I want you to do with me, Colt. Make me your slave—today, tonight, tomorrow.”
He shook his head. “Sunny—”
She touched his lips. “Don’t say it, Colt.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “I don’t know what’s right and wrong anymore, and today I don’t care. I just want you. I’ve always wanted you.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “It can’t be anybody else, Colt, not the first time. I—”
His kiss cut off her words, a deep, hot kiss that removed any remaining inhibitions. She could barely get her breath for the thrill of it, the ecstasy of his hand moving to her breast, the ache of womanly desires that surged in her when his tongue moved between her lips. Dancer moved slightly, and she clung to Colt. He left her lips for a moment, keeping one arm around her as he slid off the horse and pulled her after him.
From then on they were each so possessed with passion and need that nothing else existed for them. He pulled her into the grass, and they both felt consumed by need and long-repressed desires. His kisses were hard and deep, leaving her no time to reason or to object, and hardly able to get her breath. She suspected that even if she wanted to stop him, she surely could not now. And why would she want to? This was what she had wanted for so long, what she had dreamed about for years; but it was so much more exciting and glorious than she had imagined.
Her breath came in gasps, and she could not stop her tears of joy as she lay there in the grass, his warm, delicious kisses smothering her until his lips left her mouth to move over her throat, down to the whites of her breasts. She closed her eyes, her heart pounding wildly as he pulled her blouse from the skirt and unbuttoned it, pushing it aside. He untied the front of her camisole and pushed it open, and she cried out when she felt the warmth of his mouth at her nipple, gently tasting her, each gentle sucking pull causing pleasurable painful surges deep in her belly.
She grasped his hair, pushing herself toward him, wanting to feed him, please him, be Colt Travis’s woman. Every movement now was hard and deliberate and desperate, both of them breathing hard, fire tearing through them. There could be no slow movements, not this first time.
She felt dwarfed by his physique and power, a woman that this wild, beautiful man had to touch and taste and fill. His hand was running up her leg and under her skirt. He moved his lips back to her throat, and she could feel him trembling with the want of her. He pushed his hand up under her bloomers, and she gasped his name when he touched the soft skin of her bottom. She wondered if she might die from the ecstasy of it, for it was hard to breathe, and her heart beat so hard that her chest hurt. He took his hand away, and she closed her eyes, shivering with awakened needs as he rolled her to her side and began unbuttoning her riding skirt.
Somewhere deep inside Colt admitted this was the biggest mistake he would ever make in his life, but there was no going back now. Here she lay, Sunny Landers, her hair undone, her full, firm breasts offered up to him, her eyes closed in ecstasy, her whole body on fire for him. She wanted him, and he was not going to put up with the pain of wanting her any longer. Whether they could join their lives was a question he couldn’t answer, but it was one that mattered little now. She wanted him to be her first man, and by God he was not going to let it be anybody else.
He rose to his knees and yanked, pulling off her riding skirt and bloomers both in one swift motion, tossing them aside. He met her eyes, seeing the want still there, seeing no hesitation. He moved his eyes downward then, drinking in her naked splendor, leaning over her and touching the flat belly, the blond hairs that hid her virgin offering.
“God, Sunny,” he whispered, leaning down to kiss her belly.
“Colt,” she whimpered. She repeated his name then with each breath she took as he moved down to kiss at private places only Colt Travis had touched. He kissed her thighs, lingering for a moment at the scar left from when he had cauterized her wound. He moved back to secret places, and she opened herself to him in all her soft, pink, untouched beauty.
Colt felt her grasp his hair, heard her scream his name when his tongue found that magical place that brought a woman unbearable pleasure. He allowed himself a moment of exquisite satisfaction, tasting her sweetness, reveling in the knowledge she was totally willing. He grasped her hips and sucked her pink fullness until he could feel her throbbing. With each breath she cried out his name, and she pulled at his hair so hard that it hurt. He moved back up her belly, lingering at her breasts again, moving on top of her, finding her mouth in a fiery kiss, giving her a taste of her own juices.
Sunny returned the kiss like a wanton woman, totally lost in the man who had just claimed her most private parts as though he owned her. She felt gloriously wicked and alive, in love and on fire. Colt moved an arm under her shoulders and rolled onto his own back, pulling her on top of him so that her hair hung down around her face and brushed his own. They hesitated just a moment, watching each other’s eyes, seeing the need and the want and the passion there. He grasped her shoulders and pushed up slightly so that her breasts hung free, and she smiled, throwing her head back in the ecstasy of knowing Colt Travis was gazing at her nakedness. He gently caressed one nipple, rubbing it with his thumb.
She drew in her breath in a deep, shuddering sigh. “I didn’t know it could be this wonderful,” she told him in a whisper.
“Do you know how long I’ve wanted you?” he asked, his voice raspy.
Sunny met his eyes again, and she smiled. “I’ve wanted you longer.”
“I don’t think so.” He moved his hands to pull her blouse farther off her shoulders, and she slipped her arms from the sleeves. Another piece of clothing was tossed into the grass. She sat on top of him, wearing only the camisole which hung open, her boots, and knee-high stockings. She leaned down to let him taste her breasts again, and then he grasped her hair and met her mouth, driving his tongue deep inside as he rolled her over on her back. His kisses became wilder and hotter, and she reveled in the way he made her lose control, the thrilling sensations he brought her. How strange that she could stand up to men of great wealth and social power, but this man who had nothing at all in the way of wealth took away all stubborn pride, all sense of reason, all inhibitions. This was one man she could not resist, who made her weak. She was glad, so glad she had decided to confess her desperate plea to be possessed by him.
“I love you, Colt. I love you so much,” she murmured between kisses.
Somehow he had moved between her legs, or had she just opened them naturally and willingly? He grasped her face in his big, strong hands, resting on top of her for a moment, his powerful shoulders lifting him over her.
“God help me, I love you too,” he told her, his jaw flexing as though he were struggling against the feeling. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after today, Sunny, but damn you, I do love you, and I want to be inside you…” She closed her eyes and gasped his name. “I want to make love to you, Sunny, over and over,” he groaned, “until neither of us can find the breath or the energy to move.”
He kissed her eyes, licked her mouth while he reached down to unbuckle his gun belt. He tossed it aside and began unlacing his leggings and unbuttoning his long johns.
“Say it again, Colt,” she begged, her eyes closed. “Tell me what you’ll do to me. I want to hear it, feel it—”
“I want you, Sunny. I need to feel myself inside of you. Give yourself to me.”
The words made her feel wild and free. He met her mouth savagely then, shoving his tongue deep. She returned the kiss, her arms reaching around his neck and her tongue meeting his. She wondered at the wildness he brought out in her. She realized it had been there all the time, waiting to erupt at just the right moment. She arched against him, feeling as though she could not get close enough, touch deep enough, be wicked enough.
“Yes, Colt,” she gasped. “Make love to me until I die. It has to be you, just you!” She screamed then, unable to say another word for the pain that hit her hard and fast. He surged inside of her, and for a brief moment she wanted to push him away and beg him to stop, but she understood that Colt would never cause her pain unless he could bring her indescribable pleasure too.
He reminded her of a grand stallion taking his mare. The pain was cutting and deep, yet before he finished she began to experience through the pain another sensation, a deep need to take him inside herself, to please him greatly and take her own pleasure in return. She knew now the glory of it, the beauty of offering herself to a man she loved. She wondered briefly if she could have stood the pain if it had been Blaine. Surely loving and wanting the man the way she loved and wanted Colt made this first time more bearable.
Moments later she felt him shudder and then relax. For a moment neither of them said a word. “My God,” Colt finally muttered, brushing her hair with his lips. “What have we done, Sunny?”
“It’s all right,” she answered.
“Sunny, it’s not all right—”
“Don’t say it! Don’t say it,” she begged. She leaned back and kissed him, and it was only then she realized he had tears on his cheeks. She brushed them away with her fingers. “Not yet, Colt. I don’t want to talk yet. I don’t care what Casement thinks. I told him I might want to camp out under the stars all night. I said it because I knew if this happened, I couldn’t bear to leave you and go back to that train right away. Let’s just be together, today, tonight, tomorrow.”
He drew in a deep breath, resting on one elbow and moving his other hand to massage her belly. “I must have hurt you.”
She smiled through tears. “Only at first. I don’t care, Colt. I wanted it this way. No matter what happens, I’ll always love you, and you’ll have been my first man.” Her tears came harder then. “Hold me, Colt. Just hold me.”
He pulled her into his arms. Overhead a hawk circled, riding the winds and casting its shadow over the scene below—a black mare grazing nearly a half mile away, a painted Appaloosa a quarter of a mile in a different direction. A gun belt and various articles of clothing lay strewn along a pathway of crushed spring grass that in turn led to the nearly naked bodies of a man and a woman who lay holding each other, quietly weeping.
Chapter 22
“We’ll camp here tonight.” Colt led Dancer through a grove of cottonwood trees to the Platte. “We can wash in the river, and we’re less likely to be seen down in here in case someone should come along.”
Sunny watched him, loving the way he moved, the way he sat a horse, the look of his powerful forearms. After their first coupling, they had both fully undressed and had run and laughed in naked glory under the prairie sun. They had made love again in the soft grass, and after that second sweet union they had decided to find a place to camp. Finding all their clothes and running down the horses had been a wonderful game. They laughed at how a shirt lay here, a pair of pants there, here a stocking, there a gun belt. The two horses had been grazing so far apart that they had to whistle and call and walk a total of nearly a mile to get hold of them.
It was the happiest time Sunny could remember. Finally, she could voice the love she’d felt for so long, and now she knew Colt felt the same way for years. For now neither of them wanted to think about what might lie ahead. They enjoyed the moment, enjoyed the wonderful gift of being able to show their love. Sunny’s body hurt with the sweet pain of being loved by the beautiful man who rode ahead of her, leading her horse. It gave her shivers to realize her handsome, sure, brave but gentle Colt had seen her naked, had tasted her breasts, had explored and claimed her most intimate parts, had plunged his glorious self deep in her belly and branded her his own. She had wanted him so fiercely that she let him take her with the utmost abandon. It seemed as natural as breathing, no hesitation, no embarrassment, no worry over whether it was wrong. Nothing could have felt more right. Ever since she was a girl of fifteen, she’d known this day was coming. It simply had to be. In spite of all her millions, this man of little wealth owned her now, heart and soul.
They reached the river, and Colt tied and unloaded the horses. Sunny helped him gather wood as the sky began to darken, and they spread out a blanket and built a fire. Colt dug into his supplies and took out some soap and towels, turning to watch her add a little wood to the fire. He was thinking how she looked like an ordinary woman, more beautiful than most, but plainer now, her hair tangled and undone, no makeup, her blouse only half tucked into her skirt. She wore no jewelry…except for that diamond ring. He felt a stab of pain at the sight of it still on her hand.
“I can’t believe you’re roughing it this way,” he teased. “You look like a common settler woman.”
She smiled that smile he loved. “I’m tougher than you think. I thought I proved that to you ten years ago. You’re a hard one to convince, Colt Travis.” She held his eyes challengingly as she began removing her blouse. “I’m ready for that river bath.”
He came closer, putting the towels and soap on the blanket. “That river is pretty cold this time of year.”
She unlaced her camisole and opened it along with her blouse. “Not cold enough to take away the heat you bring out in me,” she answered, reaching up around his neck.
Colt grinned, meeting her mouth in another hungry kiss, wondering at this insatiable appetite he had for her. He had not felt this good with a woman since LeeAnn, and much as he had loved her, he had to admit that this feeling he had for Sunny was more intense, more
demanding. He had never loved this way.
Sunny kissed his chest, enjoying the taste of him even though he had been sweating from their hard riding and their previous lovemaking. He had a stirring, manly scent about him. She looked down and began unlacing his pants, and she could see him swelling again with the want of her. She daringly knelt to pull off his buckskins, and she touched him gently.
Colt drew in his breath at the feel of her fingers. She kissed him, rubbed her cheek against him. “You’re so beautiful, Colt,” she said softly. “I’ve wanted you for such a long time.” She kissed his flat, muscled belly, inching her way back up and kissing his neck. “I want to be better than any woman you’ve ever been with. Do I please you, Colt?”
He grasped her tangled hair, kissing the top of her head. “How could someone as beautiful and loving and willing as you not please a man?”
She looked up at him, and he found her mouth, keeping her face between his hands. She ran her hands over his powerful arms, reached around his neck. She reminded him of a little girl who couldn’t get enough candy. When he left her mouth she kissed his neck again, her breathing heavy. “Do it all to me again, Colt,” she whispered. “What happened when you kissed me down there? I never imagined—”
He ran his hands under her blouse and camisole, caressing her bare back and crushing her breasts against his chest. “It’s just a way to make it feel all that much better for a woman.”
“Do it to me again. I felt like I belonged totally to you. I want to feel like that again.”
He kissed her hair, her eyes. He removed her blouse and camisole, dropping them to the ground, then knelt to pull off her skirt. He helped her step out of her boots and stockings and underclothes, and Sunny marveled at how easy it was to let him see her naked. He kissed her belly, then reached over and grabbed the soap, surprising her when he scooped her up in his strong arms. “First my captive and I will bathe,” he said, running with her to the river.
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