Frontier Fires

by Rosanne Bittner

  Then they were lying naked together. The room swirled around her, and she was enveloped with a dark-skinned, muscular body, dark eyes, long dark hair that fell into her own auburn hair. She shuddered with the thrill of feeling his lips move down, caressing her neck, her shoulders, tasting her breasts with a gentle sucking that made her feel wild and free, made her want to abandon all inhibitions and give herself to him.

  Surely it was not wrong. This was her friend, now her husband. He had a right to take his pleasure in her, but never did she dream that by giving him that pleasure she could receive so much pleasure in return. Nor did she imagine she could ever be so bold for any man, allowing him to kiss, taste, touch, explore with such intimacy, until suddenly her insides rippled with the most wonderful pulsations, making her cry out his name and arch up to his lovemaking.

  “Don’t be afraid if it hurts,” he told her gently, moving his lips to her cheek then, sliding his body over her own, pushing his knees between her legs. “They say it almost always hurts the first time. But it will get better, Bess. I promise it will get better.”

  It didn’t matter. There had to be a first time if there were going to be the more pleasurable times. She closed her eyes and the pain hit her hard, surging into her belly and making her cry out in surprise. He held her tightly, moved rhythmically even though he felt her stiffen. It had to be done. There was no going back for him. But she was so beautiful and he loved her so much that it didn’t take him long to spill his life into her and have it over with. He wanted this first time to be quick.

  He relaxed on top of her then, shuddering with the total ecstasy of finally having been one with Bess Hafer—no, Bess Sax. That was her name now. And if they made love together often enough, there would soon be a little Sax, a child of his own. He kissed her eyes, her cheeks, her mouth, her hair, his heart aching for her quiet tears of pain and surprise.

  “I’m sorry, Bess, if I hurt you.” He raised up slightly. “Are you all right?”

  She sniffed and managed a smile. “You said it gets better. I believe you.”

  “I’ll see if maybe we can get a tub in here and some hot water. Maybe you’d feel better if you sat in a nice hot bath for a while. Would you like that?”

  She smiled, but more tears spilled from her eyes. She hugged him tightly around the neck. “Oh, Tom, thank you for being so good, for not being mean to me on our wedding night.”

  He pulled the covers over them and held her tightly. “How can I be mean to the woman I love?” He ran a hand over her bottom. “Thank you, Bess, for letting me have you. You could have waited longer. I would have understood.”

  “No,” she whispered. “I started thinking about my father, and I got scared.” She clung to him. “It’s like there’s so little time. I’m so scared he’ll do something terrible to take me away from you.”

  “Don’t you worry about that. Everything is going to be all right, Bess Sax. You’ll see.”

  He lay there holding her for several minutes, deciding not to voice his own concerns about Charles Hafer. They would enjoy this short respite from the outer world. The time would come soon enough when they would have to face the consequences of what they had done. But he didn’t want to yet. It was so beautiful and peaceful at the mission. They would stay a few more days. They would enjoy their newfound love and share that love through their bodies many times over before leaving this sanctuary to face the real world.

  Chapter

  Fifteen

  * * *

  Sarah covered the fresh-baked bread and removed her apron. James slept soundly, and John had chosen to sleep in the bunkhouse with the men that night, as he was often doing lately, thinking himself quite grown up now and enjoying the “man talk.” Caleb let him go, understanding that the boy also liked talking to the Cherokee men and learning about his own roots on his mother’s side.

  Caleb sat near the fireplace, brooding over Tom’s marriage and the complications that would arise from it. Sarah walked over to where he sat, kneeling in front of him.

  “Lynda will sleep at her own place tonight.” She looked up at him. “We’re alone, and James is sleeping so well.”

  He frowned teasingly. “Is all that supposed to mean something?”

  She blushed. He loved the way she blushed, as though she were seventeen again. “Caleb Sax, you know what I mean.”

  He smiled, touching her cheek with the back of his hand. He had to tell her about Byron Clawson owning that land. He had put it off long enough. But he would not spoil the moment. “Something you want?”

  She lay her head in his lap. “You know what I want. I was just thinking about Tom and Bess. It reminds me so much of when you and I ran off together. I’m so glad they were able to actually marry and nothing went wrong. I just hope Charles Hafer doesn’t do anything drastic to spoil it for them. Oh, Caleb, I don’t want them to suffer like we did.”

  He sighed, undoing the pins in her hair that held its long tresses into a neat bun. “They won’t suffer. I won’t let them. That is part of the reason I’m not going after them right away, now that I know they’re all right. We might as well give them some time alone.” He set the combs and pins aside, ruffling his hands through her hair with his hands and shaking it out, enjoying its soft thickness. “Does it bother you a lot, Sarah, that we never found a preacher, that we never married before we were found?”

  She looked up at him in surprise. “Oh, no, Caleb, I didn’t mean it that way! Neither of us could help how it happened. Besides, we … when we stayed in that cave together … we were as much as married in our hearts. I always thought of it that way. We weren’t married only a year and a half ago, Caleb. We were married nineteen years ago … in that cave.” She reached up and touched the scarred cheek. “Tom and Bess make it all come back so clearly, Caleb.”

  He took her hand and kissed her fingers, then rose with her, putting an arm around her waist and walking with her into the bedroom. “Far be it from me to let this mood of yours slip by. I never argue with a beautiful woman who wants to make love,” he teased, turning her and unhooking the back of her dress.

  “And how many have there been?” she quipped.

  “Oh, dozens. You know how Texas abounds with beautiful, delicate belles.” He laughed lightly, pulling the dress over her shoulders. “Actually, you’re the one to be watched. The shortage of females in this land makes you pretty damned valuable.”

  “Oh, there are a lot of women here now.”

  He turned her, looking down at her full breasts as the dress fell to her waist. “Not women who look like you.”

  She felt her cheeks flush, and her nipples peaked under his gaze. She smiled bashfully and looked down, pulling her dress the rest of the way off. “Well there aren’t many men who look like you, either. It can go both ways. Don’t think I didn’t notice how some of those women looked at you the day of that barn raising. They might gossip about you being Indian, but I’m a woman and I can read other women’s eyes. They were saying one thing but thinking another. I felt their envy, and I loved every minute of it.”

  Caleb chuckled and began removing his own clothes. “You’re in a humorous mood tonight, considering the gravity of the situation with Tom and Bess.”

  The lamp in the bedroom was dimly lit, and excitement surged through him as she removed the rest of her clothes and quickly got under the covers. He removed the rest of his own clothes and joined her.

  “But they have us, Caleb. It’s different for them. We didn’t have anybody to help us.”

  She snuggled closer and he moved on top of her, resting on his elbows. “True. But you’re right. It does remind me of you and me.” His eyes glittered with love. “And you don’t look one bit different than you did that first time I made you my woman.”

  She smiled, touching his dark hair. Perhaps their love was made more intense by the fact that they had been such good friends before ever becoming lovers. For so long they were brother and sister, yet both had sensed something more the day Sar
ah had to be sent away from Fort Dearborn. Now, in mid-life, that love and the sexual attraction were enhanced by years of struggle that brought a wisdom and satisfaction not enjoyed by younger lovers. Their love seemed to grow more intense with age.

  “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” she said quietly.

  His eyebrows arched. “What kind of wanton woman have I married?”

  She ran her hands over his muscular shoulders. “The most wicked, shameless kind there is.”

  He sighed deeply. “Well, I suppose I have to oblige you. You’re taking advantage of my manly weaknesses tonight, woman. I’m tired.”

  “Oh, I think you have enough energy left to satisfy your woman’s needs. You can draw on that inner strength of yours that helps you force yourself to do the impossible.”

  He grinned, meeting her lips. That was all it took, for the memory of those days of youth, those magical moments they spent together in a cave and discovered one another sexually, was vivid for both of them tonight. A passion not unlike the passion they shared then surged through both of them, so that their breathing quickened, their kisses hard and searching. Her legs parted, and he entered her quickly, discovering that already her satiny juices of desire were flowing full force, welcoming him inside with soft caresses. He felt on fire for her. He pushed with a sudden possessiveness, remembering those days, remembering how he had so quickly lost her again. He would not lose her this time.

  “I love you so much, Sarah,” he groaned. She felt him moving in circular motions inside of her, bringing out the boldness she saved only for him, a desire she had never had for anyone else. She arched up and moved with him, so beautifully and so passionately that he had difficulty holding himself back so that she could enjoy the moment as long as possible.

  He felt the glorious pulsations of her climax and raised to his knees, grasping her bottom and burying himself in the magical depths of her. He made sure she enjoyed every bit of him, taking his own pleasure in return and holding out for several more minutes until release was impossible to contain. His life surged into her in hard throbs that made her cry out his name. Even when he was through there was a certain pleasure remaining inside of her, and he lay down on top of her again, holding his weight off her by resting on his elbows, kissing her tenderly about the face for several seconds before finally pulling away from her.

  He pulled the covers over them and lay there for several quiet minutes. Sarah sighed deeply.

  “I don’t know why, but I just … I need you more than usual tonight,” she told him then. She faced him in the dim light of the lamp. “It isn’t just Tom and Bess, Caleb. It’s something else—an urgent feeling. I think it’s partly from a sense that something more is wrong than Tom and Bess. You’ve had something on your mind ever since you came back from San Felipe.”

  He raised up, resting his head on his hand and frowning down at her. “You’re too damned smart, you know that?”

  “What is it, Caleb?”

  He sighed, lying back down and pulling her close. “The trouble with a really good woman who is smart besides, is that a man can’t hide one damned thing from her.”

  “And usually when you’re hiding something it’s because you’re trying to protect me from something. I’m a big girl, Caleb. You can tell me.”

  He lay there saying nothing for several long seconds, then held her even tighter. “Promise me you won’t worry. Believe me, there’s nothing to worry about this time. I’m in my own territory and things are completely different now. I’ve got plenty of help and I am now a much wiser man than I was years ago.”

  She frowned. “What on earth are you talking about?”

  He sighed deeply. God how he hated to tell her. But she had to know. “I discovered something when I was in town at the Council the other day, Sarah. I went to report the trouble with Hafer, like I told you. But I found out—” He swallowed, keeping a firm hold on her. “I found out he doesn’t really own that land. He’s a front man for someone in St. Louis who’s backing the whole thing—paying him off to give me trouble.”

  She lay there several seconds saying nothing, as though mulling it all over in her mind. “Oh, my God,” she suddenly whimpered. “Byron! It’s Byron, isn’t it?”

  He hugged her tightly, kissing her hair. “Yes.”

  “Oh, Caleb, he’s doing it again.”

  “Stop it, Sarah,” he said sternly. “There isn’t anything for you to be fretting about, you hear me? That man can’t do a thing to us here. He’ll find that out when I’m through with Hafer. You told me yourself the man is terrified I’ll come after him. This must be his way of trying to make sure I don’t do that. But it won’t work, and when I’m through with Hafer, Byron Clawson will have a lot of sleepless nights.”

  She broke into furious tears. “Damn him! Damn him!” Her fists clenched and she began to shake. She always did when she got extremely upset, a lingering ailment from the drugs Clawson had fed her after she gave birth to Lynda, drugs that had left her a vegetable for nearly three years after.

  Caleb jerked her closer, holding her tightly against the shaking. “You listen to me, Sarah Sax. You are here in Texas with me, right in bed with your husband. We have our daughter, and our new son is sleeping right here in this room with us. Byron Clawson can’t reach us here, and even if he tries, he is playing a whole different game now—a very dangerous one. You’re my wife, and I’m ordering you not to give it another thought. I mean that. If you let this get you down, I will be all-out angry with you, and very disappointed in your lack of trust in me.”

  “You know … I trust you,” she sniffed.

  “Then trust me when I tell you I don’t want you worrying about this. It’s good that I found out. That makes everything very clear for me now. I know what I’m fighting; I understand Hafer’s motives. That makes all the difference in fighting him, Sarah. And you know Byron Clawson is going to stay right there in his safe little office in St. Louis, well away from Caleb Sax. I’m a far different man from the one he shot down all those years ago. The next time he and I meet, it’s going to be a whole different story.”

  “But you’ll get hung.”

  “Oh, no I won’t. I’m a lot wiser now and a lot more powerful.” He kissed her hair. “I want you just the way you were before I told you, Sarah. I’m sorry I had to tell you, but it needed telling. It’s done now and it’s good that you know. But you are a lot stronger yourself now. That man can’t hurt you anymore, Sarah. You just be the strong, courageous woman you’ve become since you came back to me. Don’t you dare let that bastard make you crumble again. You’re made of better stuff than that. And don’t you let him come between us again.”

  She wiped tears with shaking hands and turned to face him. “How could he come between us?”

  “In spirit. Don’t let that happen, Sarah. Don’t go back to being the frightened woman he tried to make you into. You’re proud and strong and beautiful, and you have to trust in my own strength and abilities. You’re here with Caleb Sax. That’s all that matters. Put Byron Clawson out of your mind. You’ve spent years struggling to get over what he did to you. Don’t let it all come pouring back in on you.” He kissed her tears.

  The thought of Byron touching her brought on a feeling of fierce possessiveness, and he felt a renewed need growing: to prove to Sarah and to himself who she really belonged to, and to erase all the ugly things Byron Clawson had done to her.

  He met her lips then, almost savagely, and she returned the kiss with the same passion, her own sexual arousal still alive, her body still warm, secret places still moist and ready.

  He never left her lips as he moved on top of her again, his tongue searching deep into her mouth in a commanding way that made her want to give herself all over again to this virile man who owned her. Yes, Caleb Sax owned her, not Byron Clawson. For years, when they were apart thinking each other dead, she had gone without a man, lost all sexual desires. Those desires had lain dormant, waiting … waiting for Caleb Sax. The mome
nt she found him they had stirred awake, and she knew they would never sleep again as long as she belonged to this beautiful man.

  She would do as he asked and try not to worry about the fact that Byron owned Hafer’s land. After all, this was Caleb. Why should she worry about anything as long as she had this man to possess and protect her? Her legs parted, and they were making love again.

  It was late morning when Caleb opened the door to Jake’s pounding. “Hafer men coming,” the man said excitedly. “We’re letting them come on in, but our men are keeping a close eye.”

  It was the sixth day since Caleb had left Tom in town, time enough for Charles Hafer to get the news and piece it together.

  “He knows by now,” Caleb said. “There is no doubt why the man is coming. Watch yourself. I’ll be right out.” He closed the door and turned to Sarah. Lynda sat near the fireplace breastfeeding little Cale. “You two stay inside.”

  Sarah watched him take his flintlock down from the mantel and load it. She felt sorry for him—torn between his love for his son and the problems Tom had given him. The door burst open then.

  “Pa, come on,” John shouted. “They’re almost here. Mister Hafer looks real mad.”

  “Of that I have no doubt,” Caleb answered, pulling on his wolfskin coat and walking out the door. He stood in the frosty air then with John beside him, both waiting in front of the house while Hafer and his men rode closer. There were eight men besides Hafer, all of them well armed. Caleb waited until Hafer drew his mount to a halt only a few feet from the steps of the veranda, where Sarah’s rosebushes sat stiff and barren, waiting for warmer weather to bring new blossoms to their thorny stems.

  The horse had barely halted when Hafer was out of the saddle and storming up to Caleb. “Where is she?” The words were belted out in a threatening tone.

  Caleb frowned. He knew he had to buy Tom a little more time, keep Hafer in doubt. “Where is who?”