Each Time We Love

by Shirlee Busbee

  Instantly the soap was proffered and when his fingers closed around it, Savanna immediately put several yards between them. Adam smiled. "It's too bad that you're not always so obedient."

  For once, Savanna wasn't going to taunt him. Instinct told her that the situation was too volatile and so she contented herself with coldly ignoring him and paddling aimlessly in the water. But though she tried not to think about him, the sounds of his exuberant pleasure as he bathed were hard to ignore, and as the memory of that naked, very masculine form flashed across her mind, she experienced a tingling sensation that had nothing to do with the coolness of the water.

  Angry with herself, she wrenched her wayward thoughts away from Adam and concentrated on escaping from him. Speculatively she eyed the distance from Adam to the shore and it dawned on her that for all his seemingly careless enjoyment of the water, he always kept himself between her and the shore, where their garments and supplies were situated. She grimaced. Trust him to leave nothing to chance.

  Adam had tried not to leave anything to chance. His clothes, rifle and knife were hidden nearby, just in case someone surprised them; the last thing he wanted was to be caught naked and unarmed by someone like Micajah Yates. Now, if Savanna wanted to attack him... He grinned, remembering the expression on her face when she had caught sight of him—and his condition. Lord, but it had been hard not to burst out laughing—that, or do precisely what his body had been prompting him to do since he had first laid eyes on her—make exquisitely satisfying love to her.

  The sound of something large moving swiftly through the brush sent thoughts of Savanna flying and he plunged to the shore, reaching his rifle just as a large bear ambled out of the forest not six feet in front of him. Whether Adam or the bear was the more surprised would have been hard to say, but the bear took one look at the human and with a startled grunt disappeared back into the brush.

  Adam glanced around at Savanna, who was staring in the direction the bear had disappeared with a look of astonishment on her lovely face. Shaking his head in amusement, he put down the rifle and decided that he had dallied long enough. Actually, he hadn't dallied at all—while Savanna had been busy with her own bath, he had draped her wet garments over a bush to dry and had washed his own clothes before he had joined her in the water. Since he had hidden his clothes instead of laying them in the sun, when he reached for his breeches, his mouth twisted. They were far from dry, but ignoring the clammy feel of damp cloth on his wet body, he dragged them on. The shirt he left open, and after pulling up his boots, knife in the waistband, rifle in hand, he picked up the scrap of soap that he had dropped at the shore in his haste to reach the rifle and walked toward the horses.

  Adam kept an eye on Savanna as he found the razor and, approaching the pond again, worked up enough lather to shave off the beard that shadowed his cheeks. Afterward, glancing at the sun, he figured it was only about noon, and while the majority of the daylight hours were still ahead of them, Adam wasn't inclined to spend the next several hours in the saddle. Recently they had camped too many nights without a water source and he wasn't in the mood to do so again. He was looking forward to putting on those beans and pork and enjoying a decent meal. Methodically he began to set up camp.

  Since Savanna seemed singularly disinclined to leave the water, Adam continued with his tasks. He gathered wood and started a fire and put the beans and a bit of salt in a pot with some water from the waterfall to start them cooking. Shaking out the bedroll, he eyed it with distaste, and walking to the shore, he threw it to Savanna. "Use the rocks on that—it should dry by tonight, if we're lucky."

  Sending him a resentful glance, Savanna nonetheless did as ordered, and shortly the bedroll, looking considerably more appealing even wet, was laid over a tree branch to dry in the sun. She had lingered as long as she could, and she concluded uneasily that it was time for her to leave the water, too.

  Chapter 9

  Watching her from his position under the shade of a large oak tree where he was comfortably sprawled, Adam was well aware of Savanna's dilemma. He'd been anticipating this moment for several minutes now and he waited with growing enjoyment for her next move.

  Savanna had swum nearer to shore and was standing in water breast-deep, unaware that the clarity of the water left little to Adam's already far-too-active imagination. She was, he decided reluctantly, absolutely the most glorious creature he had ever seen as she stood there, her flame-colored hair drying in curly tendrils about her face and her delicate white shoulders rising from the turquoise depths of the pool. The clear waters gave him an entrancing view of her lbreasts, narrow waist and shapely hips and he moved uncomfortably beneath the oak tree, his breeches suddenly unbearably tight. Damn her.

  Angry at his familiar reaction to her, he rose to his feet. Telling himself that the sooner she was clothed, the less of a temptation she would be to him, he grabbed up the breeches and shirt he had acquired yesterday and stalked to the edge of the pond. Throwing the garments down a few feet from the water, he snapped, "Put these on when you're ready to get out of there."

  Savanna's teeth ground together at his tone. "I'm not coming out and pandering to your perverted tastes by letting you watch me dress. And I'm not wearing those clothes. My own things should be dry enough by now."

  Adam smiled unpleasantly. "Whether your clothes are dry or not isn't the point, sweetheart. The only things that you're going to wear are these and if you don't want to wear them, then you can damn well go naked."

  The expression on his face and his cold tone of voice told her that there was no budging him, and while she could see the wisdom of the breeches and shirt, sheer stubbornness made her reluctant to follow his orders. And she certainly wasn't going to put on her clothes under the lascivious gaze of those hard blue eyes. But she didn't have a lot of choice in the matter.

  "If you'll allow me the privacy to get dressed, I'll wear the damn breeches and shirt," she offered stiffly, hoping to salvage a little of her pride.

  Looking at a point over her shoulder, Adam suddenly said urgently, "Savanna, get out of the water now!"

  Startled at his tone, she glanced backward and a chill went through her as she caught sight of a pair of ugly, thick-bodied serpents rapidly swimming toward her. Born and raised along the rivers and bayous that they frequently inhabited, she had no trouble recognizing the snakes—they were cotton-mouth water moccasins. The cottonmouth moccasin was a deadly and aggressive snake, not taking kindly to being disturbed, and it was obvious that this pair was no different.

  The appeal of the pond had made Savanna forget about the two dangers that normally lurked wherever there was water in the semitropical warmth of the southern United States—water moccasins and alligators, to be specific—and as she began to swim frantically to shore, she wondered if a huge alligator wasn't going to suddenly appear, too.

  The need to save her pride and the arguments with Adam forgotten, Savanna swam desperately toward him, but she knew in her heart that there was every possibility that any second she would feel the sting of one of the snakes biting her—or both. Anger at herself for not paying attention to her surroundings, as much as fear, helped propel her swiftly through the water, and upon reaching the shallows, she surged to her feet, oblivious of her nakedness, and began to run in the knee-deep water.

  To Savanna's astonishment a pair of strong arms suddenly swung her upward out of danger as Adam met her halfway. With her naked body secured in his arms, he plunged to the shore, heedless of the snakes, his only thought to remove Savanna from harm.

  The first snake was right behind him as he reached the dry ground, and it was only his quick reaction as he brought his booted heel down on the flat, triangular head of the moccasin that saved him from being bitten. Ignoring the squirming of the dying reptile near his feet, swinging Savanna safely behind him, Adam reached for his knife, and as the second snake gained the shore, he quickly dispatched it.

  Shivering with shock, only halfway aware of her nakedness, Savan
na stared with horror-filled eyes at the bodies of the two snakes, realizing how close she had come to suffering an ugly death. Her teeth began to chatter and she hugged herself as if she could lessen the chill that was permeating her entire body.

  Having made certain that the moccasins no longer represented any danger, Adam turned around to look at Savanna, and seeing her condition, he swore under his breath. Pulling her next to him, he ran his hands soothingly over her body. Her head was pressed into his shoulder and, his mouth bare inches from her ear, he murmured, "It's over, Savanna. It's over. You're safe now."

  His body was warm against hers, and as the minutes passed and his hands continued their gentle caressing, his voice rumbling reassuring phrases against her ear, Savanna was gradually aware of a lessening of her fear... a lessening of at least one kind of fear. Unfortunately, her fear of the snakes was rapidly being replaced by the growing fear of Adam's touch. Not his touch, precisely, but what his touch was doing to her.

  Adam's only intention had been to comfort Savanna when he had first put his arms around her trembling form, but as the moments passed and her trembling ceased, he became painfully aware of the demands of his own body. He had been in a constant state of arousal from the moment he had first looked into those lovely aquamarine eyes, and having her soft and naked in his embrace was more than he could withstand. Damning himself for being a calculating bastard, but unable to stop himself, he lifted her chin with one hand and brought his mouth down on hers.

  He kissed her with all the pent-up hunger inside him, his lips warm and hard as they moved demandingly on hers. For Adam there was no slow slide into passion. The moment his mouth touched hers, he was consumed with the driving urge to touch her everywhere, to explore with his hands and mouth every curve, every sleek inch of her lovely body, to join their bodies together and lose himself in the silken ecstasy he knew he would find.

  Adam's body was solid and warm against hers and Savanna clung to him, her mouth soft and vulnerable beneath the urgent assault of his, her lips parting helplessly to allow the hungry penetration of his tongue. As the kiss deepened, his arms tightened around her, crushing her naked form closer to him, his hands cupping her buttocks to force her against him, and she was dizzyingly, aware of his great arousal, of how very badly he wanted her... and of how very easy it would be to let him have his way....

  His white shirt hung open and her breasts were pressed against his bare skin, the thick dark hair on his chest rubbing against her nipples. The flame that had sprung to life in her belly at the first touch of his lips on hers blazed hotter with every passing second, until Savanna thought it would consume her. Frightened at what she was feeling, stunned at the carnal emotions that had erupted without warning, she fought against what her body wanted and what her brain told her she should do. She hated him, didn't she? She didn't want to feel this way about him, didn't want to respond to him, but her body... ah, but that treacherous body of hers desperately wanted his touch, her betraying mouth wantonly sought the plunder of his and she swayed in his arms, a furious battle raging within her.

  Struggling against the chains of passion that kept her prisoner in his embrace, she freed her mouth from his and said thickly, "Stop! I don't want this. I don't want you!"

  His blue eyes black with desire, Adam stared down at her flushed face, his gaze lingering on her rosy mouth, the lips swollen from the force of his kisses.

  She pushed herself away from him and glared up at him, waiting tensely for his next move. His expression didn't change, nor did his hands leave her buttocks, but his gaze dropped to her breasts and, to her humiliation, she could feel her nipples tighten and swell under his gaze.

  A crooked smile curved his lips. "Liar," he said softly. "This is something we've both wanted since the first moment we laid eyes on each other."

  "No! No, it's not!" Savanna replied desperately, denying the truth of his words, trying to ignore the appeal of that shockingly pleasurable mouth of his, trying to pretend that the warmth of his hands on her naked flesh didn't fill her with delight, or that his touch didn't arouse a hungry yearning within her. She did not want to want him. Nothing had changed between them—he was still the coldhearted bastard who had killed her father, he was still the man who had kidnapped her and nothing could ever change those facts. Except... except somewhere in the region of her heart there was a dull ache, an ache that had increased with every passing hour she spent in his company; and then there was her treacherous, treacherous body, which ached, too, but with a different ache from the one in her heart... a physical ache that she knew could be satisfied if she gave in to temptation, but that ache was one that she dared not appease....

  Adam stared at her for a long moment, those dark blue eyes roaming over her lovely face, lingering on the soft temptation of her mouth before dropping once again to the fullness of her breasts, the coral nipples erect and hard, and his hands tightened on the firm flesh of her buttocks, pulling her against the rigid strength of his manhood. She shivered with reaction and he felt it and brushed his mouth against hers and said again, "Liar. You want me—even if you won't admit it, and I'm afraid that between us the time for talking is past..." He kissed her insistently, his teeth nibbling against her lower lip until her mouth parted to let his tongue explore at will. He kissed her for a long time, his hands sliding caressingly up and down her back, sometimes cupping her buttocks to keep her pressed near him, and it was only when she gave a defeated little moan and put her arms around his neck that he lifted his ravaging mouth from hers. His breathing was labored and, one hand tracing the swollen fullness of her lips, he muttered, "Tell yourself you don't want me, if it pleases you, but never delude yourself that your body doesn't want mine."

  Sweeping her into his arms, he carried her to a thick patch of soft green grass dappled with shade. Lying her down gently on the grass, before Savanna's stunned gaze, he swiftly discarded his boots and his breeches.

  Savanna had seen naked men before, but none so attractive as the tall man who stood unashamedly in front of her now, the sunlight glinting through the leaves of the trees to caress his bronzed skin. From the crown of his dark head to the soles of his feet, he was undoubtedly the embodiment of every sensuous dream that any woman had ever conjured. The broad shoulders and wide, powerful chest gracefully tapered down to a flat belly, narrow waist and slim hips. His legs were long, elegantly shaped and tautly muscled, and as she stared at him, unable to tear her eyes away from the sheer masculine beauty of him, despite everything that was wrong between them, Savanna felt her breath quicken and her heart begin to pound faster.

  Nature had not stinted when it had created Adam St. Clair. His tall body was hard and lithe; his chiseled features were handsome and stamped with an arrogant attractiveness that would stay with him until the day he died. Against her will, Savanna felt herself drawn to his potent masculinity, and when her gaze stopped at the apex of his thighs, she was shaken by the sight of just how generous nature had been to him... and by the bittersweet knowledge that she had brought him to this state.

  As Adam came down beside her, Savanna made one last attempt to escape from him, but it was useless. His arms closed around her and his mouth found hers. She was shocked at the heat that emanated from his body as he pressed himself against her soft length, shocked at how eagerly her own body responded to that heat and how impossible it was to remember that she hated him.

  His lips brooked no barriers and all too soon his tongue was filling her, pleasuring her as it searched and slid rhythmically within her mouth. It was such a simple act, his tongue within her mouth, and yet it seemed that she could feel its thrusting motions throughout her body. His hand touched her breast, the long fingers circling her erect nipples, and she shuddered with the elemental demands that flooded through her, twisting wildly in his arms, not to escape but to press closer, her lips opening wider to allow him to delve deeper, more insistently. Without thinking, she put her arms around his neck and arched in his embrace, beset by the myriad emo
tions that his explicit kisses and warm touch had so violently aroused within her.

  Her body was afire and yet she was shivering, not from cold but from the urgent sensations that were coursing through her; she pressed even closer to his naked body, the feel of his swollen manhood pushing vigorously between her thighs, filling her with both fear and wild anticipation. When his warm lips left her plundered mouth and slid down to suckle at her breast, her entire body jumped with shocked, guilty pleasure and deep within her loins there was a sudden clenching, a throbbing ache that had her twisting helplessly in his arms. Oh, God! She did want him.

  Adam had never had any doubt about wanting Savanna, but he wasn't prepared for the pleasure it gave him to kiss her, to explore the sweetness of her mouth and to taste the honied softness of her flesh. She enthralled him, made him half wild with the longing to plunge himself deep within her and possess her and make love to her so fiercely that the memory of any other man's touch would be banished forever from her mind. These were not emotions he had ever felt for any other woman and they only seemed to increase the intensity of what he was feeling as he held her in his arms and began to discover all the secrets of her lovely body.

  He could not seem to get enough of her, his hands and lips roaming over her face and breasts, nipping and kissing, fondling and caressing, his hips moving against hers in frankly carnal demand. Entrapped as helplessly as Savanna by the urgings of his own flesh, Adam buried his face between her breasts, savoring her clean scent, and let his hands drift down her body, caressing the indentation of her slim waist, the curve of her hip, the flatness of her belly.... His head lifted and his lips crushed hers, his tongue filling her mouth as his hand slid into the tight red-gold curls between her thighs.