Hannah Howell (8 page)
Authors: Stolen Ecstasy
A soft noise finally broke into her dark, confused thoughts. It was the sound of water. She realized they had stayed close to the creek. Suddenly all she could think of was having a bath. She did not think there was an inch of her that was not sweat-streaked and dusty. She grabbed her spare clothes, still tied up in the blanket, and started towards the creek. A hand on her arm put an abrupt stop to her movements.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Hunter was not sure she had gained the sense to know how dangerous it was to go off on her own.
“To have a bath.”
“That’s what you told Charlie and Jed before you crept off.”
“I did not creep off. I ran.”
“Fine. I’m not giving you the chance to run again.”
“I don’t intend to try it again.”
“And I’m just supposed to take your word for that, am I?”
“Mr. Hunter, I may be prone to acting on impulse, but I am not totally lacking in wit. I can read the signs that tell me my impulse was an unwise one. Read them and learn from them. Six drunken Indians making lewd gestures and chasing me on horseback was a very clear sign which I had no trouble understanding.”
He stared at her for one long moment, then nodded. It might prove a mistake, but he honestly believed her. She was certainly not stupid. He was not sure, however, that a bath was such a good idea.
“It’s not safe to swim in the dark.”
“That fat, full moon provides enough light for my needs. I have done a lot of running over dry, dusty ground. I have to at least rinse that dust off.”
“Don’t take too long.” He released her arm.
Hurrying away, she knew she would have a very quick bath. Hunter had not said he would come looking for her if she took too long. But the threat was there. She also knew that, unlike Charlie, Hunter would fulfill that threat.
Once she reached the water’s edge, she hastily stripped off her clothes. She took only a moment to rinse the dust out of them before grabbing her soap and plunging into the water. The first shock of the cool water wore off quickly, leaving only the pleasure of getting clean. She was soon caught up in that chore, determined to remove every grain of dirt.
Hunter helped himself to a cup of the coffee Jed had brewed. His first thought was that he should have made Leanne brew it. Jed’s was only barely drinkable.
He fought the urge to go after Leanne. Those feelings she could rouse in him would only be strengthened if he gave in to the desire he had for her. It would be best to avoid her completely.
It all made good sense, but he had very little sense when it came to the lithe, tempting Leanne. He stood up. Luke made a lewd remark as Hunter started towards the creek, but Tom hushed the man.
The moment he reached the water’s edge and saw her, he knew there was nothing that could turn him from her, from what he wanted of her. She stood waist deep in the slow-moving water, her wet blonde hair snaking over her body. He tossed his hat on the ground and began to undo his gunbelt.
Leanne decided she had lingered long enough and turned to leave the water. When she saw Hunter standing there she felt her face heat with a blush, crossed her arms over her breasts, and sank down into the water. She then realized that he was wearing only his trousers, and he was unbuttoning those.
“What are you doing?” She was dismayed to hear that her voice was an octave higher than it should be.
“I’m going to take a bath.”
“You can’t do that.” She tried, and failed, not to look as he started to remove his drawers.
“Can’t I?”
With eyes growing ever wider, she watched him discard his drawers. She had not expected him to look so good, all lean, supple muscle. The sight of him, naked and aroused, did not stir fear or shock as she thought it ought to. It stirred lust, want, an aching desire for him that she knew would not be quelled by good sense—not this time.
When he stepped into the water, she bolted. One strong brown arm was quickly wrapped around her waist. She cried out as he turned her in his arms and yanked her body against his. The feel of their flesh touching pushed aside all coherent thought. It was all she could do to bite back a soft moan of enjoyment as he slowly pulled her up his body until they were face to face. Her feet were off the creek bed, so she put her arms around his neck.
“Just where did you think you were going all wet and buck nekked?” Hunter was not surprised to hear the thick huskiness of his voice. The feel of her lithe, naked frame against his body had him reeling with hunger for her.
“Away from you,” she answered with an honesty born of Desperation.
“Are you afraid of me, Leanne?” He slid his hands down her back to cup her slim, taut backside and press her closer.
“No. Yes.” She trembled, the heat of desire flooding her.
“I don’t intend to hurt you,” he murmured against her skin as he smoothed kisses over her throat.
She gave a nervous laugh. He had no idea what he could do to her. Leanne supposed that was for the best, but a part of her wanted to tell him, wanted him to know he could tear her heart to pieces. The realization was too new, too startling, and too personal to share with a man whose only feeling for her seemed to be lust.
“I won’t hurt you. You must know that by now.”
Not physically, she thought but knew that answer would give too much away. “Dragging me to God knows where and making me your whore is hardly harmless.”
“Why is it a woman always thinks a man’s trying to make her a whore just because he wants to make love to her?” As he spoke, he moved her against his hard body and knew by her quickened breathing that she felt the proof of his desire. “Tell me you don’t want me, Leanne. Tell me and I’ll walk away right now.” He placed his mouth against hers. “Tell me,” he whispered.
Leanne wanted to. She tried desperately to find the strength of will to utter the words. But the way his hands felt on her backside and thighs, the way he moved her body against his in a pantomime of what they both craved, the way his mouth teased hers, robbed her of that strength. She wanted him, wanted him so badly that even the cold water they stood in did little to cool the heat in her body. Saying no was the last thing she could do.
“Damn you,” she whispered.
He laughed softly, a mixture of triumph and amusement. “Just don’t curse me afterwards. Remember, I gave you a chance.”
“Some chance,” she muttered, but his hungry kiss ended any further remarks she might make on the tactics he’d used to gain what he wanted.
Holding her close, he walked out of the water. Unwilling to release her, he kicked the blanket open and nudged her things out of the way with his feet. Kneeling, he then laid her down and slowly lowered his body onto hers. She accepted him in her arms with no sign of reluctance.
“So sweet,” he murmured against her skin as he kissed the hollow in her throat. He cupped her breasts in his hands, his thumbs brushing over the hardened tips, and she arched towards him slightly. “That’s it, honey. Let it free. Hold nothing back.”
When he laved the tips of her breasts with his tongue, she thought dazedly that she could hold nothing back even if she wanted to. She moved her hands over his lean frame, at first shyly then, encouraged by his appreciative murmurs, more boldly. He felt so good to her. She remembered all too well how good it felt to touch him.
She cried out with hoarse delight when he drew the aching tip of one breast deep into his mouth, sucking gently. Each slow, hungry draw increased the cramping need centered low in her belly. She buried her fingers deep in his thick hair to hold him closer as she arched towards him, urging him to continue.
When he slid his hand up from caressing her inner thighs to the soft curls that lay between them, she tensed. But his soft, husky voice soothed her brief shock even as the intimate caress sent her hurtling back into the blind depths of passion. So enflamed was she by his stroking, she felt nothing but eagerness when he began to join their bodies, easing into her with a slow, rocking motion. Even the short, sharp pain that came when he finally ended her innocence did little to quench the fire of need raging through her.
At first he moved slowly, kissing her deeply, his tongue imitating the thrusts of his body. She clung tightly to him, soon matching his rhythm. When he grew fiercer in his movements, she was more than ready to meet his intensity. She felt driven. As her release seared through her, tumbling her into its blinding maelstrom of total feeling, she realized what she had been seeking. She called out his name as she clung to him, trying to pull him deeper inside her, and was rewarded by the sound of her name bursting from his mouth in a hoarse cry of joy.
Hunter eased himself free of her lax hold when he was finally able to catch his breath. He dampened his neckerchief in the creek, cleaned himself off, then rinsed it out. Returning to her side, he found Leanne blushing deeply and trying to cover her nakedness with the tangled blanket. He hoped recriminations would not follow. Gently but firmly, he tugged the blanket away and cleaned her off, ignoring her deepening blush.
Tossing aside his neckerchief, he quickly lay down beside her and took her tense body into his arms. Never before had he experienced such a rich passion. It was both exhilarating and frightening.
“You can’t retreat now, Leanne,” he murmured as he gently dragged his fingers through her thick, drying hair.
“I didn’t realize I was.” Held close to him, she felt her embarrassment begin to ease.
“It looked like you might be thinking of it.”
“That look was embarrassment. I’m not accustomed to being naked in front of a man.”
Pressing his face against her neck, he smiled briefly. Her total innocence had been a heady surprise. He had suspected that she was a virgin, but the strength of her passion had sometimes stirred doubts. Now he realized that desire had gripped her as strongly as it had gripped him. She had wanted him enough to give up her virginity. Just thinking of that stirred his hunger for her.
“Regrets?”
“Only an idiot would have none. I can never go back,” she whispered, suddenly realizing the finality of the step she had just taken and a little frightened by it.
“Would you want to?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. A woman does her damnedest to cling to her virginity. A man does his damnedest to lose it—fast.”
“Men arranged that, I am certain.”
He laughed softly, glad to hear the bite in her words, for it meant she was back to her normal, tart self. “Could be. A man likes being the first.” He trailed his hand down her spine, then idly caressed her backside. “If nothing else, it means he’ll be remembered.”
Leanne knew she would never forget Hunter. The fact that he was her first lover had little to do with it, but she had no intention of admitting that. “It does, does it? Do you remember your first?”
Frowning slightly, he tried to bring the familiar memory forward, but holding her, the memory was not as clear as usual. “More or less.”
“Mostly less.”
“No. It’s pretty clear. It was a dozen years ago, when I was just sixteen. I remember the time and place and being scared.”
“Scared? Of what?”
“Of doing it wrong or, worse, not being able to do it at all.”
“Well, at least you had some knowledge to work with. Women are told nothing at all.”
“Except how to say no in more ways than can be counted.”
“And, clearly, that lesson isn’t always remembered.”
Cupping her chin in his hand, he tilted her face toward his and gave her a slow, gentle kiss. “I’m glad of that.”
“You would be. It means you got what you wanted.”
Nibbling on her earlobe, he murmured, “And I wanted it bad.”
“I did notice that.” She smiled as she smoothed her hand over his chest, finding that, although it was not what she desperately needed to hear him say, she was flattered and thrilled to know she could stir his passion so.
“Do you still notice it?” he drawled as he pressed her closer to him.
She was surprised to feel his arousal so soon after their lovemaking. Her own growing desire, despite the slight twinge caused by her introduction to passion, she attributed to her love for him. She had not expected him to feel the same greed.
“Again? So soon?”
Rolling onto his back and settling her on top of him, he kissed her nose, smiling at her surprise. He was surprised himself His sexual appetite had always been a moderate one, only occasionally driving him to buy a little relief. She stirred a deep craving within him. It was exhilarating, making him feel almost lightheaded. There was something about what he felt for her that was joyous, smile-inducing. He thought wryly that laughter was not something he had ever associated with desire.
“Why are you grinning at me?” She smiled faintly as she brushed his tussled hair from his forehead.
“You, sweet Leanne, make me feel young again.”
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