Without releasing her nipple, Rafe let his hand move over Maria’s back, along her side, across her hip, and down her thigh. His feathery touch caused her whole body to quiver with an ache so sizzlingly sweet, she feared she would melt. Being in control had been essential all her life; it was part of who she was. No one had ever caused her body to overpower her mind. No one had promised to take her on a journey so incredible, so much beyond anything she knew, that it would change her life forever. With a sigh, Maria gave herself up to Rafe.
It was a shock when Rafe released her nipple. She felt abandoned, rejected. She pressed against him looking for, and needing, a replacement for the excitement his attention to her nipple had created. She found it when his hand moved between her legs.
Her muscles tightened and her knees clamped together in an involuntary reaction. Rafe pulled back.
“Don’t,” she gasped.
“I won’t.”
“I mean don’t stop.” Her brain felt heavy, foggy, unable to focus. Her muscles gradually relaxed and her body sank deeper into the mattress. Rafe’s hand moved gingerly along her inner thigh. Drawing on the minimal resources of her brain, she fought the urge to pull away, to defend she knew not what. Rafe loved her. He wouldn’t hurt her. He would stop if she asked.
When his fingers parted her flesh and entered her, it was all she could do to keep from flinging herself from the bed. Instinct urged her to resist the invasion, to fight to protect her body. That was countered by an even stronger need to open up, to yield, to give herself to him.
It became harder and harder to complete even simple thoughts, thoughts that made her wonder why his touch seemed alien and natural at the same time, why she should feel so conflicted about what he was doing, what it would be like to touch him. Just as she felt she was about to get a grip on a thought, he would move his hand in a way that shattered the thought into unrecognizable fragments.
Then he found a spot that not only rendered her brain useless but caused her body to go rigid and arch up from the bed.
“Did I hurt you?”
How could she describe something that made her feel like she was coming apart yet was so wonderful she would beg him to do it again? She managed to shake her head from side to side. “No,” she said with a mere thread of her voice.
It didn’t hurt when he did it again. And again. She was sure she would come apart, but it didn’t matter. As his hand moved inside her with rapid or slow strokes, with deep or shallow penetration, all conscious thought narrowed until she was aware of nothing but the spiraling sensations inspired by Rafe’s touch. Her body was moving inexorably beyond her control and into a realm where nothing mattered but sensation.
She felt like a spring being wound tighter and tighter. She writhed under the ministrations of Rafe’s hand, her body moving first away and then toward the sweet torture. She wondered if the moans she heard were her own but didn’t have enough energy to care. She cared only about the feeling that something inside her was growing, swelling, on the verge of consuming her in one enormous gulp. The spring wound tighter, her muscles so rigid she was sure she couldn’t stand any more, yet she didn’t have the power to move away. Didn’t have the desire, either.
Then something inside her burst, overwhelming her with exquisite sensation, and she felt the tension drain away from her like water rushing through a gap in a blasted dam. A shuddering breath escaped her, and the tenseness began to seep out of her muscles, leaving her feeling limp and unable to lift so much as a finger. She didn’t know how to explain what had happened to her body, but nothing had ever left her feeling incapable of thought or movement. She was only vaguely aware that Rafe had moved, that his shifted weight had caused the bed to move beneath her. Her thoughts weren’t able to focus until she realized his body was suspended over hers, that something large and hot was pushing between her thighs.
“Let me know if this hurts.”
It didn’t hurt, but his entrance into her body stretched her until she was certain she couldn’t contain him. When he started to move within her and the tension began to build once more, she forgot about everything else. She became a vortex, a single source of energy, slowly spinning into the outer rings of consciousness.
She didn’t know when she started to move with him, to welcome him deeper and deeper into her body. The need to feel connected to him grew stronger, until having him inside her wasn’t enough. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down so that their lips met in a series of kisses that stoked the fires deep inside her to a white heat.
Yet that wasn’t enough. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him still deeper inside her, but the more she got, the more she needed. Clinging to Rafe with all her strength, she drove him deeper in an attempt to satisfy the need raging inside her. She could hear his breath become labored, feel his muscles tense, his body stiffen. He seemed to swell inside her, filling her to bursting. At that moment, his body began to buck and she could feel the warmth of his seed as he exploded inside her.
That was all the stimulus she needed to carry her over the edge into sweet oblivion.
Rafe slowly floated upward from the depths of sleep to the calm surface of consciousness. He marveled at the sense of peace that holding Maria in his embrace gave him. The hurt of Dolores’s betrayal would never go away, but Maria’s love for him had enabled him to put the past behind him, enabled him to look forward with eagerness to the future.
He’d rather thoughtlessly said he intended to take Maria and Luis back to Texas with him, but having made love to her, having felt the healing balm of her love, he knew it was not the life he wanted for Maria. He would have a family that would need a home of its own.
He would hate to leave his friends, but maybe he could buy a ranch within easy riding distance. He smiled at himself. Here he was making plans for their future and he hadn’t asked Maria what she wanted.
He would need more money than he’d saved to buy his own ranch. Maybe he would consider selling his interest in Rancho los Alamitos to Luis. That ought to give him more than enough money to buy ranch land in Texas. Would it be better to leave Luis and Maria in California while he went back to Texas to buy a ranch and build a house? He didn’t like to think of leaving Maria for such a long time, but if he didn’t, she’d be forced to live in a cabin like the one Cade’s grandfather still occupied, and that was unacceptable to Rafe.
Thinking about leaving her reminded him that he had no idea who was trying to kill him. Unless he was mistaken, that first attempt had been directed against Maria. He couldn’t possibly leave as long as he thought she was in danger. Selling the ranch would be one solution, but Luis was too young to make such a decision for himself.
He had racked his brain, but couldn’t figure out who could benefit from his and Maria’s deaths as well as a serious injury to Miguel. If they were out of the picture, the ranch would still be under the lawyer’s management until Luis came of age.
Suddenly the murky idea that had been lurking in the back of Rafe’s mind came into sharp focus. He lay still for a moment longer, running the idea through several tests. Once he was satisfied that it had passed all of them, his expression turned grim. He reached out to shake Maria.
“Wake up,” he said. “I know who’s trying to kill me.”
“Are you sure?” Broc asked.
“I’ve gone over every possibility numerous times,” Rafe said, “and this is the only name that fits with everything we know. Laveau doesn’t care about anything but money. Killing me won’t make him a penny richer.”
They were gathered in Rafe’s father’s office so no one in the house would be aware of their meeting.
“I can’t believe it,” Maria said. “Your father placed complete trust in Henry Fielder.”
“So did I,” Rafe admitted. “I knew of no reason to do otherwise.”
“But why would he want to kill you as well as seriously injure Miguel and me?” Maria asked.
“Money. In case I couldn’
t be found or was dead, my father’s will set him up to manage the ranch until Luis reaches his majority. He only has to incapacitate you and Miguel to have complete control. There’s no assurance he wouldn’t do something to Luis so he could keep stealing for the rest of his life.”
“So how do you intend to prove it?” Broc asked.
“I plan to set a trap for him.”
Broc’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean to use as bait?”
Rafe met his gaze. “Don’t you mean who?”
“You can’t seriously mean to set yourself up as a target,” Maria protested.
“Can you think of a better way?” Rafe asked.
“No, but there must be one. Have you thought of what would happen to Luis and me if you got killed?”
Broc looked from Maria to Rafe. “Is there something I don’t know?”
Rafe turned to Broc. “I’ve asked Maria to marry me. I’m taking her and Luis back to Texas with me.”
Broc jumped up from his seat, strode over to Maria, and subjected her to a crushing hug. “I told him weeks ago he was in love with you.” Broc released Maria, turned to Rafe, and wrung his hand while grinning so broadly that it nearly overcame the effect of his scars. “I hope you know she’s too good for you, you old rascal. I have a good mind to cut you out to save her the ordeal of having to put up with you for the rest of her life.” Broc mitigated the severity of his remarks by giving Rafe a hug even more bone crushing than the one he’d given Maria.
“I know that better than you.” Rafe gave as good as he got. “She has too much sense to prefer an actor over a landowner.”
“It won’t make any difference to me how much land you own if you’re dead,” she said to Rafe.
“It would make you a rich widow.” Broc’s grin faded when he realized Maria was truly upset. “Sorry. Not funny.”
“Isn’t there some other way?” she asked, turning to Rafe.
“Not one I can think of.”
“If you’re planning to take everybody back to Texas, why do you care who’s trying to murder you?” Broc asked.
Maria didn’t want to go to Texas, but she would happily live in an even more disagreeable place if it would keep Rafe out of danger. “Forget all about traps and bait. We can leave for Texas anytime you want.”
Apparently she had caught both Rafe and Broc by surprise. “You don’t know anything about Texas,” Broc pointed out.
Rafe’s gaze was more penetrating. “I was certain you were going to do your best to convince me to stay here.”
“Why would I want to stay here when someone is trying to kill you? The notion of using yourself as bait makes me crazy.”
“We mounted this kind of operation several times during the war,” Rafe told her. “It’s not without danger, but Broc and I know how to take care of ourselves.”
“How? You’ve never seen the person who’s trying to kill you. Have you considered it might not be the lawyer?”
“I’m certain it’s not,” Rafe said. “He’d use someone else so he wouldn’t be under suspicion.”
“So you’re going to set yourself up to be shot at when you don’t even know who’s doing the shooting?” There had to be something wrong when neither man would meet her gaze. “What are you going to do? I have a right to know.”
“I haven’t worked out all the details yet,” Rafe admitted, “but I’ll start by telling Fielder I’m going to be married and make you my heir. If anything happens to me, Broc will become manager of the property until Luis becomes of age. If anything happens to Broc, it goes to Cade.”
“How is that going to draw him out?”
“I’ll have to wait for the will to be drawn up before I can sign it. That will give him about a week to kill me.”
“So you’re just going to walk around as a target?”
“Not quite. I intend to invite him to go hunting with me.”
Maria decided she’d fallen in love with a madman. “Wouldn’t that be the perfect opportunity for him to kill you?”
“He doesn’t dare do it himself while we’re together. It would practically be an admission of guilt. He’ll depend on the man he’s hired to kill me.”
“Do you know who that man is?”
“No.”
Now she was certain Rafe was crazy. “How do you plan to discover this man’s identity?”
“Broc and I haven’t discussed a plan yet,” Rafe said, “but I was thinking that Broc could wait out of sight to see who follows us up the trail. If no one does, he’ll send me a signal that means I have to watch out for Henry Fielder.”
“Suppose the killer is already on the mountain?”
“I plan to tell Henry we’re going to hunt in one place, then change my mind and take him somewhere else.”
“I think you should tell the sheriff and let him handle everything.”
“I have no evidence,” Rafe reminded her. “Unless and until we find the man actually responsible for the attacks—and we won’t know we have found him until he makes another attempt—we have nothing to take to the sheriff but my suspicions.”
She couldn’t argue with that, but she had to convince Rafe to find another way. “At least let the sheriff help you.”
“I wouldn’t put it past the sheriff to warn Fielder. He’s an important part of this community. I’m not.”
“You would be if you stayed here.” But she didn’t want Rafe to stay if it would put him in danger. Why was everything so difficult?
“I still don’t see why you want to bother if you’re going back to Texas,” Broc said. “Just appoint someone else to look after things and the lawyer is out of the loop.”
“The will is written so I can’t take Fielder out of the loop unless I get married and have a wife and children to inherit the ranch. Even then, if something were to happen to Maria and me, the lawyer would have control until the children came of age.”
“You think he was planning this all along?”
“Yes. I think he thought I’d never be found or wouldn’t come back. The only attempt to find me was a single ad in a Chicago newspaper. If Laveau hadn’t sent it to me, I’d never have known my father had died and Henry Fielder would have had uncontested control for the next twelve years.”
Maria felt guilty for having complete confidence in Fielder. Warren Jerry hadn’t seen the ranch accounts for the last two years of his life. Neither she nor Dolores had seen any after his death. As far as she knew, every penny that wasn’t necessary for the running of the house hold could have found its way into Fielder’s pockets. She couldn’t bear to think that Fielder had robbed the family blind and she hadn’t known anything about it. “Maybe you could ask the sheriff to look into the lawyer’s accounts. If large amounts of money suddenly started appearing, wouldn’t that be enough to arrest him?”
“Embezzling is a lot less serious than attempted murder. I don’t intend to let him off easily.”
She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she had no intention of standing aside while some greedy lawyer attempted to kill Rafe. She didn’t know whether her future lay in California or in Texas, but she certainly wouldn’t let some thieving lawyer ruin it.
Henry Fielder cursed Roger Anderson. “Rafe wouldn’t be changing his will if you’d killed him the first time.”
“The man has more lives than a cat.”
“Well, his are about to run out. He’s invited me to hunt a cougar with him. You’ll follow us. If I don’t manage to push him off a cliff, you’re to shoot him.”
“How will you prove that you didn’t do it?”
“We’ll use different rifles. I’ll carry a tan-colored coat to put on him so the sheriff will believe me when I say he was shot by another hunter.”
“Maybe we should give up,” Roger said. “You’ve already taken a lot of money.”
“I mean to have it all.”
“Where is Broc?” From where Maria and Rafe were waiting near the stables, she could see Henry Fielder riding toward the house
.
“He’s hidden out of sight along the trail,” Rafe explained. “I wish you’d stop worrying. We’ve got everything under control.”
Nothing would be under control until Fielder and his cutthroat companion were in jail. “How do you expect me to stop worrying when you’re going into the mountains with a man who wants you dead?”
“I know what Henry’s up to, but he doesn’t have any idea that I know.”
She didn’t see how that was going to help, but she didn’t bother to say so. “I still don’t see why you don’t take someone else along with you.”
“Because then the man might decide against trying to kill me.”
Maria bit her tongue to keep from screaming that she thought that was a good thing. “Just be careful. Don’t let Fielder get behind you.”
“I’m the one who’s leading. I have to be in front. Remember, Henry won’t try to kill me himself.”
Maria didn’t know how Rafe could be so sure of that. She didn’t know anything about killers, but she doubted they could be depended upon to behave according to expectations. After all, murder wasn’t exactly normal behavior. She could think of a hundred perfectly logical reasons why Rafe should change his mind, but she wasn’t able to put forth any of them because Henry had reached them.
“It’s a perfect day for a cougar hunt,” he said as he dismounted.
Maria eyed the rifle in a scabbard attached to his saddle. She saw no reason it couldn’t be used on a man as well as a cougar.
“Most of the time cougars keep their distance from the ranch,” Rafe said to Henry, “but this one has been giving us a lot of trouble recently. It might be injured or too old to hunt deer any longer.”
“Let’s go,” Henry said. “I’m familiar with the lower canyon. I used to hunt there as a boy.”
Someone Like You (Night Riders) Page 27