Beneath the shirtwaist, Emily wore her modern brassiere. The peach colored lace had begun to show the wear of daily hand washing, but the bra was still delicately lovely, exotic in this time and place. She knew Zach found it exciting, such a fragile wisp compared to the heavy boned corsets most women currently wore.
In another situation, the intensity of his gaze would have embarrassed her, but now she could only bask in the adoring, admiring heat of his regard. She could imagine herself a model, a starlet, almost a goddess by the wonder in his eyes.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered. "I'd never tire of looking at you, although looking isn't going to be enough right now."
Emily shifted closer to him. "Let me return the favor." Suiting action to words, she began to unbutton his shirt, one of the heavy flannels he'd bought to go with his Levis. There were not nearly as many buttons. It took her nimble fingers only a few moments to undo them. After she'd pushed the open sides back, he gave a quick shrug, slipped free of the shirt and cast it aside.
In the soft lamplight, his body gleamed sleek and tawny. Even through the shirts he'd worn, the merciless sun had tinted his skin, lending it a visual warmth that matched the way he felt to her eager touch.
Emily ran her hands over the planes of Zach's chest and sides, tracing the patterns of muscle and bone, the clean masculine contours of his torso. Going tight and tense beneath her exploring hands, he shivered and drew a quick, hard breath. Finding her touch affected him as profoundly as his did her gave Emily a unique sense of power.
"You're beautiful, too, not in a soft, feminine way but like Michelangelo's David or a Greek god. In my world, most men are either too muscle bound or they're all flabby and white, but not you. You're just right."
It was his turn to blush at her praise, and he did, shaking his head slightly as if to make light of her remarks. He caught her wrists and stilled her hands.
"I can only take so much of that," he warned. "Besides tickling, you're about to send me up in flames!" Releasing her hands, he slid the straps of her bra off her shoulders and then reached behind her to release the clasp, pealing it away to reveal her breasts.
Dropping her bra atop her blouse, he cupped her breasts, one in each hand. The subtle abrasion and pressure of his palms sent sparkles of electricity dancing through her. They flickered like fireflies before settling low in her abdomen. When he brushed his thumbs gently across the nipples, they budded tight in an instant, peaking as if reaching for his touch.
Emily released a shuddering sigh of delight. "Ooohhh. We may burn up together if you keep this up."
He laughed, a warm joyful chuckle. "Would you like that?"
She nodded, unable to speak as he continued to tantalize her with his fingers, then bent forward to brush his lips over the sensitized flesh he'd been teasing. Emily's head dropped back as she leaned on her arms, eyes shut, back arched to lift her breasts into his caresses. A delicious lassitude settled over her, leaving her weak, warm and willing to grant him any liberty.
After a moment, he laid her back onto the pillows. Standing again, he kicked off his boots and stepped out of his jeans. Unabashed by his own nudity, he turned to unfasten her skirt and tug it down past her hips. She rolled to one side, drawing up her legs to pull her feet from the entangling folds.
He paused only a moment to gaze down at her, and then lay down at her side, gathering her close, scattering feather-light kisses over her face and throat.
"I want to cherish you for the rest of our lives, to hold you like this every night and wake up beside you every morning until we are both old and gray. Is that too much to ask?"
He spoke softly, the words half-muffled as his lips traced a path from her ear to the point of her jaw, her chin to the hollow of her throat and downward to the valley between her breasts.
Emily didn't want to think about tomorrow or forever, only now, this very wonderful instant. The nagging hunch still warned her that tomorrow would come too soon and forever was very much at risk, but she could not dwell on that.
"No, not too much," she gasped, the words fading into a whimper as his lips closed over one peaked nipple and drew on it in a gentle suckling movement. He switched to the other, using one hand to imitate the caress of his mouth on the first.
Emily melted and shattered, every nerve alight with feeling while her body felt bonelessly limp and beyond her power to move. She had no idea where he had learned all these amazing things he did with his hands, his lips, and his tongue, but they were taking her somewhere she had never been, to new heights of sensual delight. She was helpless to do anything but luxuriate in a flood of pleasure.
Sensation built and spread, surging through her body and rising in a restless tide, swirling higher and faster. Zach clasped her in his arms, rolled, and brought her up to lie atop him. Of their own volition, her legs parted, one knee dropping on either side of his hips. With his hands clasped just above her waist, he pushed her into a sitting position and held her there, looking up at her with a whimsical smile quivering on his lips.
"Queen Emily, ruler of all she surveys."
Laughter bubbled within her, almost as strongly as passion. What was it about Zach? How did he make everything fun? She balanced, rocking slightly as the bedsprings responded to their slightest movements.
Emily let her gaze wander over all of him that she could see, committing to memory every line, every subtle tint of his skin. The darker flecks in his gray eyes, the coppery glints in his dark hair. The small lump on the right side of his nose, just below the bridge, the tiny scar on his upper lip, just inside the left corner.
All the while, he slid his deft hands up and down her sides, brushing the outer swells of her breasts but denying her more. She felt his erection nudge her bottom. That made her want to slide down the few inches to take him in, yet she also wanted to make this moment last, a paradoxical vignette of anticipation and contentment.
Kneeling, she rocked slowly, rubbing against the solid muscle of his lower belly, feeling the tingling, throbbing need build inside until she felt dizzy and mad with the wanting and waiting. Finally, he took charge once more, pushed her down those final few inches, thrust up as she settled over him, driving into the hungry waiting heat within her.
Mindful that others slept or perhaps lay awake, others who might hear and take offense or be alarmed, she gulped back the cry that welled in her throat, muting it to a whimpering moan. They moved together, their dance choreographed by Nature and perfected anew by each pair of lovers who made it their own.
Emily discovered at once how much control and power she had in this position. Using that control, she vowed to make the ecstasy last, drawing it out until Zach's face turned red and she herself could not stand the building pressure another instant. Rising on her knees as high as she could, she poised for a breath and then bore down. His answering thrust sent them both crashing past the point of no return.
Slick with sweat and shaken by the final tremors of her climax, Emily collapsed on Zach's chest. They lay together, gasping for breath, while their two racing heartbeats slowed and steadied, feeling, seeing, hearing only each other.
Fuel exhausted, the lamp flickered and died, but they no longer needed its light. Emily slid to one side as Zach turned to face her, gathering her close against his body in the final moments of awareness before sleep claimed them both.
"I won't let go," he murmured. "I'll hold you so tight nothing can take you away."
In the afterglow, she could believe him, could make a promise of his words and hold that promise as a talisman against the haunting dread that would not leave her.
CHAPTER TWENTY
May 28, 1889
Sunrise lay like an invocation over the town the next morning as Zach helped Mary Ann into the borrowed buggy. Emily stood by, watching their preparations, blinking back her tears.
She told herself they would be all right, that the journey would end well. Tonight Zach would be back, flushed with success and eager to tell her the
tale. She had only to wait that long.
Curly Prentiss and three other cowboys rode up to join them, rifles in their saddle scabbards and pistols around their waists. Their cow ponies snorted and pranced, eager to be off. Two miners would ride shotgun on the buggy itself, one watching out the back while the other sat in front beside Zach.
Once the story was known, Tombstone had almost made a project of getting Mary Ann Tremaine safely out of town and on her way home. Emily had found the response of the common folk to the threat of Jake McEuen, Mary Ann's plight, and especially the assault on Marshal Cooper heartwarming and encouraging.
Obviously, there were many more decent, law-abiding folks in Tombstone than the town's evil reputation would lead one to believe. Although they minded their own business and tried to keep out of the affairs of the lawless elements, when pushed too far, they stood up for what was right and did so with a great show of vigor.
Emily would hardly have believed the response had she not witnessed it and even taken a small part in all that had happened in the past week. She should feel safe now, for townsfolk were still on guard and would be watching while Zach and his group was gone. She had no reason to feel uncertain, to be haunted by a nameless dread.
She blinked back her tears to try to send Mary Ann off with a smile. Once free of the gambler's brutal abuse, the young woman had responded quickly and shown more spirit than Emily had at first imagined she possessed.
After Mary Ann began to regain her normal health, Emily quickly warmed to her. They'd shared a few midnight confidences the nights Mary Ann had spent in Emily's room, and Emily had come to think of her as a friend. If it should actually come to pass that she and Zach married, Mary Ann would be her sister-in-law. That thought brought Emily a genuine, unforced smile.
On a sudden impulse, Emily took the little gold chain and birth stone pendant she'd had since her sixteenth birthday from around her neck. Oddly, she'd learned she and Mary Ann shared a birth month, February, although Mary Ann's birthday was the third while hers was the twentieth. She ran to the side of the buggy and reached up, holding out the pendant.
"Here, Mary Ann. I want you to have this to remember me by."
Mary Ann gave her a watery smile. "Oh, Emily, you shouldn't. I haven't anything to give you in exchange. But I'll send you something as soon as I get home. I'm sure Mama kept some of my things. I had a cameo brooch that had been Grandma Tremaine's. It would be perfect on your shirtwaist. Even without this token, I'd never forget you. Thank you for everything!"
Zach looked around to see that everyone was settled, then he shook the reins and clucked to the team. He sent Emily a private glance full of warmth and tenderness. "Tonight."
She nodded, blinking harder, as the horses started forward, forcing her to step back out of their way. Not until they were lost from view down the hill into Walnut Gulch did she turn and go back indoors. All at once her hunch returned, stronger than ever. Something was going to happen, something terrible. She didn't have a single idea what she could do to avert that inevitable doom.
In a listless daze, Emily went about her daily tasks, barely responding to Angelina's chatter. Since everything seemed gray today anyway, she didn't notice how quickly the clouds built and spread across the valley, soon blocking the sun. When the first distant rumble of thunder sounded shortly before midday, she jumped. Glancing from the window of the room in which she was making up a bed, she could not see one tiny spot of blue in the sky. The gray dreary clouds only added to her despondency.
By the time they served the midday meal, the thunder was drawing close, and flashes of lightening made fleeting mockery of the normal sunshine. Rushing to the back door, Emily looked out to the northwest. A fierce storm, dense inky clouds and sheets of rain torn by bolts of brilliant lightening, blocked the view toward Benson.
Emily wanted to go to her room and hide her head beneath the pillow, but a kind of horrible fascination held her in place, watching as the storm approached. Like a bird mesmerized by a snake, helpless to move to safety, she stood and stared at the roiling clouds.
Surely Zach and Mary Ann had reached Benson long before now. If this storm had crossed their path, she prayed they were safe in the railroad station awaiting Mary Ann's train when it hit. She could not imagine anything more horrifying than being out in that violent storm without shelter or protection. The light top and curtains of the buggy would do little to turn the fury of such a storm.
As Emily gazed out, she saw Angelina running back from the laundry with a bundle of clean sheets. At that instant, a bolt of lightening struck the top of the courthouse with a flash of such fierce brilliance that Emily felt as if her eyes were seared. Blending with the sizzling crackle of unleashed energy, the reverberation of thunder seemed to shake the very earth.
The courthouse was just over a block away, which meant the storm was now right overhead. For a long moment, Emily's dazzled eyes only saw red haze, with a vague shadowy shape of the courthouse tower superimposed in smoky gray.
When she could see normally again, she saw Angelina had fallen to her knees in the street, the linens dropped to one side. The girl's hands were clasped as if in prayer and she seemed oblivious to the sudden drenching fall of rain, as if she were shocked immobile or perhaps suffering from a real shock of the lightening. Had she been hit? Another flash briefly brightened the scene, this one apparently in the clouds directly above them.
My heaven, she will be stuck by lightening if she doesn't get run over by a frightened horse. Without another thought, Emily dashed out, heedless of anything but the urgency of bringing Angelina to safety.
When she reached Angelina's side, Emily caught the younger girl by one arm and tugged her to her feet. "Come on. Hurry, we've got to get inside." She stooped to pick up the bundle of bedding, now soaking wet. With the laundry in one hand and a firm grip on Angelina's arm with the other, Emily started back to the boarding house.
Rain battered them from every direction, pounding down as if shot from a fire hose. Trees swung in crazy arcs, their branches twisting from the force of the wind. Emily squinted against the rain and the dazzling lightening, while the mud slid beneath her feet and each step seemed to take them farther from their goal.
Hearing the splashing thud of galloping hooves, even over the nearly deafening crash and roar of thunder, Emily glanced back to see a dark horse bearing down on them. An instant in which she gave Angelina a fierce shove forward was all the time she had before the horse's shoulder slammed into her back. She fell into a tornado of flashing light, rain, and crashing thunder that faded swiftly into silent darkness.
~*~
After leaving Tombstone, Zach pushed his little group as hard as he dared. He wanted to reach Benson and the relative safety of the railroad station as soon as possible. The team he'd borrowed with the buggy was lively and fresh, more than willing to head out at a brisk trot. The cowboys' horses were also frisky, enjoying the cool damp morning air.
The four mounted men loped along beside the buggy, wheels spinning to throw gravel from the road at the brisk trot of the team. Zach glanced back at Mary Ann, who sat behind him. She had healthy color in her face now. She smiled widely and her eyes sparkled at their exhilarating pace.
But even as they traveled, Zach watched the morning's clear sky quickly darken with heavy clouds that threatened rain. Yet another reason to make haste. Still, they stopped briefly at St. David, a Mormon farm community, to water the horses in the artesian springs before they pressed on. Shortly after noon, they arrived in Benson, just before the first thunderstorm broke around them.
He hitched the team underneath a sloping roof at the back of the station, where the buggy would stay dry and the horses would not feel the brunt of the storm. Then he helped Mary Ann down and led her inside to get her ticket.
As soon as the storm moved off, Curly and the other three cowboys took their leave, heading west to their ranch over by the Whetstone Mountains. They refused the money Zach offered for their aid. Cur
ly insisted they had enjoyed the ride and were glad to help out, although they hadn't been required to do anything. Zach thanked them warmly and told them he was at their disposal for any help they might need at some future date.
The two young miners had to wait for Zach's departure, having no other way to get back to Tombstone. They wandered off down the street to have a beer while Zach and Mary Ann waited for the train.
At least Mary Ann would not be the only one boarding at Benson today. Several soldiers from Fort Huachuca were going to new duty stations, including a major and his wife, who were to be posted to Washington D. C.
After introducing himself and Mary Ann, Zach sat down to talk with the couple. Major Dodd and his wife were originally from Pennsylvania, although west of Philadelphia, which gave them all a bit of common ground.
Mrs. Dodd, a stocky woman with an air of confidence and determination, promptly took Mary Ann under her wing. She slid her ample bulk to one side to let Mary Ann sit down by her on the waiting area's largest bench.
"My, you poor child, having to travel all that way. Well, you needn't worry, Mr. Tremaine, we shall see Miss Tremaine safely to the station in Philadelphia, won't we, John? We'll be going right through there before we head south to Washington."
Zach listened with half an ear while she chattered away about the travail of life in the west and how very much nicer the east was for women. He caught Mary Ann's glance and grinned when she rolled her eyes, obviously suppressing a giggle. He didn't envy Mary Ann's lot on the journey. She'd be lucky to get a word in edgewise, but he could not imagine anyone daring Mrs. Dodd's wrath by harassing Mary Ann in anyway. The older woman made a fierce and able guardian.
The train steamed in within the hour. Zach walked with Mary Ann to the waiting passenger car. Handing her the small valise they'd bought to carry her few possessions home, he gave her a powerful hug.
"Write me when you get home, or send a telegram so I will know you made the trip safely. Tell Mamma I'll be returning in good time, perhaps sooner than I expect, but certainly this fall."
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