Marsh joined her there to build a fire in the large stove. Randee cut up the meat and vegetables and placed them in a pot to simmer. She knew Marsh was eyeing how she was dressed, and she didn’t mind.
He walked into the adjoining room, removed supplies from his saddlebag, spread out a blanket on the floor, and sat down to clean his weapons. While their evening meal was cooking, Randee opened the front door and watched the weather.
The thunder was almost deafening. Like rattling tin, it crashed and echoed across the heavens. The rain poured down so rapidly and heavily that the ground was saturated in minutes, making visibility practically zero. Winds gusted around the house, slanting the large drops of water and sending any loose object airborne.
Randee watched the children’s swing as it was tossed about in the strong currents. “Isn’t it a shame they had to leave such a lovely place because of those villains?”
Marsh glanced up from his chore and nodded. The homey setting and mood were nice, but scary. He asked unthinkingly, “If you can’t destroy Payton Slade or return home or get possession of the Carson Ranch, what then, Randee? If I’m killed during this mission, where will you go? What will you do?”
Randee leaned against the door jamb and looked at the man on the floor nearby. “I don’t like talk about failures, Marsh.”
Now that the subject had been broached, Marsh had to know the answers to his troubling questions, so he persisted, “You need an alternate plan, woman, in case the worst happens.”
Randee sighed heavily and replied, “The Carsons had plenty of money hidden, so I’ll be fine. If we fail, which we won’t, I’ll find some place to settle down and begin a new life. I can buy a store, or a hotel, or a restaurant, and earn a nice living.”
“Are you sure I’m not spoiling things for you later?”
“What do you mean?” she inquired, observing him closely.
“I just worry about you getting too accustomed to my being around all the time. What happens when I’m not?”
Suddenly Randee felt depressed by his words and mood. “I’ve kept my end of our bargain, Marsh, so why do you keep fretting over it? If this thing between us is meant to be more than a temporary affair, it’ll happen whether we try to halt it or encourage it. If not, we’ve shared some special times together. We both felt this strong attraction at our first meeting when you crashed into me. Whatever it is between us, I don’t know, but we have to allow it to take its course. It’s like a fire. When we met, it began smoldering, then burst into flames to burn brightly and fiercely. We have no choice but to wait and see if those flames dwindle and go out, or if they remain glowing embers to be rekindled from time to time when our bodies need its warmth. Whether it burns for one week, one month, one year, or more—even if nothing comes of it—we have to use it while it’s there.”
She jumped as several thunderbolts shook the area around the house. “I’m not ready to settle down either. For one thing, we have important work to do, here and in Kansas. Secondly, I watched my mother lose the man she loved, and it nearly destroyed her. I’m not ready to give Fate the chance to do that to me. I’m young and there’s lots I want to see and do. I’m not trying to hog-tie you, so relax.”
Before Marsh could reason or argue, Randee had the impulse to race outside into the pouring rain and use that swing to get rid of her abundant energy. She did just that, to Marsh’s amazement.
Marsh tossed aside the things in his hands and bounded after her, shouting, “Where are you going, woman?”
Randee hopped on the swing and started it moving, swaying back and forth rapidly. The thunder roared around her and the rain pelted down on her, soaking her instantly. She threw her head back and allowed the refreshing water to race over her face and body.
Marsh grabbed the ropes and tried to halt the swing, slipping to his knees in the mud. “What are you doing?” he asked worriedly.
“Enjoying life,” she shouted back over the loud rain, wind, and thunder. She laughed gaily at his frantic expression.
He halted her movements and urged, “Come inside, woman, you’re getting drenched. You’ll take a death of a cold.” He noticed how the gown clung to her wet flesh and seemingly vanished in its saturated condition. As she looked down at him, her bangs glued themselves to her forehead and the water ran swiftly off each strand. He watched it bead and drop from her stubbornly set lips and chin. What an unpredictable and tempting creature she was!
The swing lurched forward in a forceful blast of wind, sending Marsh to his butt in the mire. He yanked Randee from the wooden seat, pulled her across his lap and sealed their mouths. He closed his eyes to prevent water from pelting into them. The violence of the weather assailed them, driving them into a heated frenzy for each other. His hands locked around her buttocks, holding her tightly against his groin.
Randee’s legs straddled Marsh’s thighs and her toes dug down into the mud as she closed any remaining space between their straining bodies. Her hands wandered over Marsh’s rain-slicked body and roved through his ebony hair. She thirsted urgently for this man who was intoxicating her with his bold behavior.
Their lips feverishly meshed over and over, creating a white-hot heat within them. He unbuttoned her gown and slipped it off her shoulders to allow his hands to roam her naked flesh. His mouth trailed down her throat, tasting the sweet rainwater and savoring her urgent need for him. His mouth teased over the wet flesh and drifted into the inviting canyon between her breasts. She arched backward to permit his hungry exploration of the taut peaks. She ached for him and encouraged him to continue his loving assault on her body and wits.
Marsh’s hands gripped the nightgown and wiggled it upwards, bunching the saturated material around her hips. She was wearing nothing beneath her thin garment, and his fingers tantalized the bare skin of her thighs and buttocks. He hunched his back to reach her breasts and stimulate them with his fiery tongue. Suddenly they fell backwards into the mud, but didn’t release each other. They playfully rolled in the mushy bed as they caressed and kissed passionately, wildly, freely, urgently.
Finally, they parted only long enough for Marsh to struggle from his clinging wet pants and for Randee to yank off the confining gown. They made no attempt to end or delay this heady madness by dashing into the house to make love there. It was one of those rare moments when emotions and inhibitions were unleashed and allowed to race where they would. The violent weather was no deterrent. It was, in fact, an erotic stimulant, the potent instigator of this carefree union.
Marsh moved atop her quickly and sealed their mouths, blocking the pounding rain from, her face. Their tongues mated in a sensuous dance as he drove within her time and time again. The explosive thunder vibrated the ground beneath them and urged them onward with their task.
Randee felt water dripping from Marsh’s hair onto her face and she closed her eyes to protect them from the stinging drops. Joy and ravenous desire charged through her as powerfully as the lightning charged across the ever darkening sky. In her ears, her pulse throbbed and her heart roared as loudly as the thunder which surrounded them. Neither modesty nor hesitation entered her mind as she thrashed upon the miry ground beneath her lover. She desperately needed this unrestrained fusion of their bodies and spirits, and she clung to him as she rode out the maddening storm within her. She didn’t care if she was getting filthy, as the mud could easily be removed later from her hair and body. All that mattered at this moment was having Marsh Logan in this wild and wonderful manner. As she stroked his back, the mud spread over it, then over his muscled shoulders and arms as her fingers drifted down them.
Marsh captured Randee’s face between his hands and kissed her greedily. He felt the torrential rain beating almost painfully against his naked body, but he didn’t care. In fact, it seemed to drive him onward in his uncontrollable quest to make this carefree vixen a part of himself. The heat of their bodies increased, and it was surprising that steam didn’t rise from the entwined lovers as the chilly rain continued to
deluge them. They labored until rapture was ready to burst within them and carry them beyond the reality of the storm’s fury.
Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, but they couldn’t halt their search for sheer bliss beneath the swaying tree. When ecstasy was obtained, they clung together and savored every drop of their lusty bout in the sensual mud. Dirt-filled drops. splattered their joined bodies as they lay there recovering from the staggering experience. At last, both were aware of the pelting rain which bit into their tender flesh.
The blue-eyed man propped his elbows on either side of her muddy’hair and gazed down at her, shielding her face from the downpour of water. “You’re crazy, woman, but I’m damn glad you are.”
Trying to breathe normally, she grinned and remarked, “That was wonderful, wasn’t it?”
“Yep, it was,” he agreed, smiling broadly, tenderly.
They kissed again, leisurely and more calmly. They laughed and hugged, and the heavy rain could be ignored no longer.
“We’re filthy, Mr. Logan,” she teased, rubbing her hands over his dirt-blackened frame.
He rolled aside, stood, and pulled her to her feet. With the aid of the pouring rain, he washed the mud from her shapely body, then repeated the action on his.. He grinned and said, “All clean now.”
Marsh picked up their dirty garments and took her hand to walk back to the house. He dropped their clothes on the porch and turned to find her holding up her unbraided hair to a forceful stream of water that was pouring over the edge of the roof. He stepped forward and helped her rinse the dirt from her tawny head. When all traces of mud were removed, he squeezed out the excess water, then pulled her into his arms. Water ran off-their bodies and puddled at their feet while slick flesh rubbed against slick flesh. Neither minded that they were standing outside naked, as no one was in the area.
They stood there a long time, embracing and kissing tenderly. They felt relaxed, despite the increased intensity of the storm. When a bolt of lightning struck the large tree and splintered off a large limb which crashed loudly to the muddy ground, they both jumped and ‘ looked that way. The swing was broken, and the place where they had made passionate love was concealed. Fusing their gazes again, they laughed merrily at their narrow escape.
“Let’s get you dried off and warmed up, woman.”
“I just got cooled off,” she jested, leaning forward to nibble at his neck. She snuggled against his hard body and sighed peacefully. How she wished this were their home and they would never have to leave it because of any peril or other reason.
Marsh wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek atop her head. A strange mixture of calm and excitement filled him. He wondered if it would always be this way between them, stimulating, spontaneous, satisfying, heart-stoppingly fantastic, and tender.
The wind began driving rain upon the porch and they moved closer to the door. The air was cooling rapidly, and both shuddered. They laughed as they realized they were still soaked and naked, standing there au naturel as if it were the most common behavior in the world.
He grasped her face between his hands, lifted her head, and looked down into her green eyes. Shaking his head roguishly, he murmured, “You steal my wits and self-control at every turn, woman. What am I going to do with you, Miss Hollis?”
“Enjoy me for as long as you can put up with this headstrong vixen,” she quipped, drawing his head down to seal their lips.
When their mouths parted, they entered the house hand in hand and closed the door. Randee went into the kitchen to stir the stew and stoke the stove. Marsh dried off and wrapped a thin blanket around his hips, tying it at his waist. He returned to the porch and draped their dirty garments over the railing to allow the forceful rain to wash them.
Randee headed for the bedroom to dry off and don another gown. Marsh followed her and did the task himself. As he worked slowly and gently, he realized why he had been moody earlier. These strong emotions were unfamiliar, were downright intimidating, but he didn’t know why. Yet, he didn’t want to analyze them today, or he’d be compelled to accept them and deal with them. Deciding what to do about Randee Hollis was one of the toughest decisions of his life. He could be killed any day, any time. If he gave up his present lifestyle, would he miss it? Would he be content to share this woman’s life? Had he pressed his luck too many times? Could he keep challenging mortal danger without paying a lethal price? Could he start living and relaxing, stop being on constant guard every day? If he resigned, would he be crazy in a week, a month, a year? What would his existence be like if he didn’t travel all the time, if he never got shot at again, if he never engaged in another fight or duel, if he stayed out of the rain and cold, if he wasn’t alone, if he did “normal” things for a change? He had come to think this was the only way to live. But was it? Once in while, shouldn’t he listen to his heart and not his head?
Randee mischievously fluffed his damp hair and scolded, “Stop thinking about unsolvable problems or you’ll create ugly frown lines on this handsome forehead. We’re warm and safe tonight, and we have a hot meal simmering in the kitchen. For a change, Mr. ‘ Logan, relax and enjoy life, and your seductive servant,” she added merrily.. As she caressed his strong jawline, she coaxed, “We’re good friends and partners, Marsh, so let’s not complicate a perfect situation with fears and doubts. Surely there’s nothing wrong with being a little wild and crazy every so often. Can’t you see, we don’t need any demands or promises to harass us? Isn’t that enough to appease you for a while?”
Marsh’s hands cupped her shoulders gently and he smiled into her entreating eyes. “Do you know how to play poker?” he asked.
“Do I what?” she asked in confusion.
“Do you know how to play poker, the card game?” he clarified.
“No, but you can teach me if you like”
“I have a pack of cards in my saddlebag. It’ll be fun to play for a few hours, while that storm rages outside. After we eat, we’ll build a cozy fire, spread out our sleeping rolls before it, and play cards till bedtime. I might even share a nip of my best whiskey with you. You did say partners are supposed to share everything, didn’t you?”
Grinning, she replied, “I did, didn’t I? Well, partner, how about doing your share of the kitchen work? Supper should be ready soon, so we best get some biscuits to baking, and yours are better than mine. I’ll set the table and make the coffee.”
“I don’t recall seeing a table,” he teased, following her.
“You’re right. How about if you build that fire and spread out those sleeping rolls after you make the biscuits? Then we can picnic before that cozy fire.”
At the word picnic, their gazes fused and they exchanged grins. As they worked at the kitchen counter, Randee remarked, “He built her a nice home. I wonder if they’d come back after this mess is over.”
Marsh responded, “If anybody knews where they went, we could have the authorities notify them about coming back home. Course, they could be settled some place else by now.”
“It’s terrible to lose your home, to have to walk—no, run— away from all this work and beauty. It makes me sad and angry.”
“One day, this area will be filled with settlers. Then, no gang will be strong enough to push everyone aside for some evil reason.”
Reflecting on this vile injustice, Randee vowed, “We’ll unmask those bastards! We’ll cut ‘em down in their tracks and they won’t ever harm anyone again.”
“Mercy, woman, you’re talking just like me. From now on, I best watch my language around an impressionable young lady like you.”
She laughingly informed him, “You’ve already spoiled me, Durango, so it’s too late to change your bad conduct and speech now.”
“It’s never too late to cha …” Marsh fell silent as he whirled and pretended to see why the door had been flung open with-a crash. He knew the wind had done it, but it had saved him from making a slip.
He glanced at Randee and chuckled before going over to clos
e and bolt it. “While you finish here, I’ll check the other door and windows. We don’t want any unexpected guests tonight.” He left the room to tend his chores.
Randee watched his hasty retreat with a sly grin. Nobody would be out in this violent storm. They were alone in a cozy and secluded setting, a homey one, which made that carefree rogue nervous. She suppressed her laughter and continued her task.
They ate before a warm fire, then cleared the area for their game. Marsh explained the rules as he dealt the cards. They played several hands, with Marsh win ning all of them.
“No fair,” she jested, “You’re an expert at this. Be kind and let me win for a change. Didn’t I tell you I’m a bad loser?”
“If there’s one thing I know about you, woman, it’s that you want to be treated equally. That means winning on your own, and without cheating or being duped.”
She grinned and replied, “You’ve got me there, partner.”
“There and everywhere,” he responded huskily.
Randee’s eyes slipped over his manly frame, still attired in only a thin blanket. He had shaved while she was finishing their supper, and his handsome face was thoroughly arresting. Heavens, how she loved and desired this irresistible male!
“Your turn,” Marsh hinted, running his tongue over his lips.
The room was glowing provocatively from the colorful fire. The storm was still howling and raging outside, with rain beating loudly on the roof. Randee reached forward and took the cards from his hand and cast them aside along with hers. She pressed him onto his back and whispered seductively, “I have the winning hand this time, Mr. Logan, so I’ll collect my prize right now.” Her fingers loosened the knot at his waist and she boldly pushed the covering aside. Removing her gown, she reclined beside him and reached for him.
As she drove him wild with pleasure, he teased, “If this is your prize, you greedy vixen, then I’ll let you win every time.”
“What a good sport you are, Marsh Logan. Now, lie still; you’re distracting me from my lessons,” she replied, then returned to work on him sensuously… .
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