Carol Finch (22 page)

She stood before him,
not
looking peeved and defensive, as he expected. She looked…well, besides looking like a radiant burst of sunlight in his shadowy office, she looked nervous. She shifted from one foot to the other, stared at the air over his right shoulder and knotted her fists in the folds of her gown.

“I would like a private word with you, General,” she requested then glanced over at Micah, silently requesting that he make himself scarce.

Micah snickered playfully. “You aren’t planning to shoot him, are you? If so, I really must object because I would be left to fill out all that paperwork on his desk. I dislike all those administrative duties.” His blue eyes twinkled down on her when he added, “Maim him if you feel you must, just don’t kill him outright. For my sake?”

An answering smile pursed her lips. “I’ll leave him in one piece, more or less,” she agreed.

When Micah exited, Rafe watched Karissa draw herself up to full stature and moisten her lips. He inwardly groaned when his body clenched and his attention settled on the tempting curve of her mouth. He was starving to death for a taste of her. He felt as if it had been months rather than weeks since he had been able to hold her, since he had been deep inside her and discovered what heaven was like without actually dying first.

Another wave of unfulfilled desire rippled through him. He tensed when she drew in a deep breath, calling
his attention to the rising swell of her breasts. Damn, he wanted to rip away those garments that hid what he had discovered to be absolute feminine perfection and fill his hands with her soft flesh.

Good gad, would you listen to him? She was here, obviously with something important but difficult to say and all he could think about was getting her naked and appeasing this craving that had sunk its teeth into him and wouldn’t let go.

“General…er…Rafe,” she blurted out nervously. She shifted on her feet again, cleared her throat and stared over his left shoulder.

“Yes?” he prodded. He would have chuckled in amusement in response to her miserable expression, but that would likely set her off. She would slice him into bite-size pieces with the sharp side of her tongue.

She blew out her breath, wrung her hands in front of her, and then said, “I’m in love with you, in case you don’t know it, and I want to be your mistress.”

Rafe wasn’t sure what he expected her to say, but the abrupt declaration caught him so far off guard that he wilted back into his chair. Only his chair was still sitting upside down on the floor and he tumbled sideways in a graceless sprawl. He banged his chin on the floor, snapping his teeth together so fast that he bit his tongue. Swearing, he clambered onto his hands and knees and looked up to see Karissa, her hands braced on his desk, staring down at him in concern.

“Are you all right?”

“Um…yes…fine.” He came inelegantly to his feet to dust off his uniform. “Would you mind saying that again. I’m not sure I heard you right.”

Her gaze narrowed on him. “You heard me loud and
clear, General. Don’t make me repeat myself. Are you interested in the offer or not?”

Well,
he
sure as hell was going to repeat it, because
he
couldn’t believe she had stood right there in his office and said it. “You love me and you want to be my mistress?” he croaked in amazement.

She scowled at him. Now
that
looked like the Karissa he knew. That other woman, who had seemed so nervous and unsure of herself, he did
not
know.

“Well?” she prompted impatiently. “It’s not as if I intend to twist your arm a dozen different ways. Either you want to have an affair with me or you don’t. Which is it?”

“Oh, I most definitely do,” Rafe assured her. “Just what prompted you to come here with this offer that no man in his right mind could possibly refuse?”

She flashed him a look that indicated that, if asked, she wouldn’t testify that he was in his right mind. He ignored that expressive stare and asked, “Was it the lumber and carpenters? The fencing and farmhands?” He nodded speculatively. “No, I’ll bet it was the deeds to your new properties. Am I right?”

“None of the above,” she informed him. “You can’t
buy
my affection or forgiveness. But nice try, General.” Her confidence faltered once again and she nervously stacked the papers that were scattered across his desk. “Clint and Amanda were thrilled with your generosity, of course. They are very grateful.”

“They are very welcome,” Rafe replied. “Now about this affair we’re going to have. Were you planning to move into my quarters or are we going to set a schedule so you can expect me to visit the homestead on certain days of the week?”

She shot him a dark look as she moved the inkwell
from the left side of his desk to the right side. Rafe was thoroughly enjoying this encounter with Karissa. It compensated for all those times she’d driven him nuts with that sassy mouth and those defensive airs. Lord, she was so adorable standing there, trying to discuss an affair, as if she were hammering out the details of a serious business arrangement.

“Visitations to my tent down by the creek would be best, I think. Three days a week should suffice.”

Rafe eased a hip on the edge of the desk, crossed his arms over his chest and battled like the devil to keep from bursting out in riotous laughter. “I beg to differ. Seven days a week is more to my liking.”

Her green eyes bugged out and her jaw scraped her chest. He reached over to close her gaping mouth. “Don’t look so surprised, Rissa. Loving you the way I do, I’m not about to settle for three measly days a week. And you can forget about having an affair because I’m not settling for anything less than marriage.”

“You love me?” she bleated, bewildered. “You are kidding.”

His silvery eyes glittered like mercury as he shook his dark head and smiled the devastating smile that threatened to knock her knees right out from under her—and they weren’t all that steady to begin with. She had been so nervous and self-conscious that it was all she could do to stand still to make her heartfelt confession and suggest the affair.

He reached over to draw her between his legs then cupped her face in his hands. “I couldn’t be more serious, Rissa. How can I not love you, considering all the flattery and glowing compliments you have bestowed on me since we first met?” he added with a playful grin.

She looped her arms around his neck, feeling relieved
and giddy and hopelessly infatuated. “I never once complimented your dashing good looks or your sharp mind,” she teased impishly. “Though you are definitely handsome and intelligent. And I may be many things, General, but I am
not
a liar.”

Rafe chuckled. “No, you aren’t and I never meant to imply that you are.” His smiled faded as he stared deeply into her eyes. “You are my heart, Rissa. I suffered nine kinds of hell when I realized you had been kidnapped and I was racing around, trying to figure out where you were and who had taken you away from me.

“I have learned to conquer fear for my own safety, in the line of duty. But I tell you truly, Rissa, I was terrified every blasted time I found you face-to-face with disaster,” he confided huskily.

She toyed with the lock of raven hair that dangled on his forehead. “Truly? And here I thought you had applauded all those men who tried to send me on a one-way trip to hell and get me out of your life for good.”

“Hardly that,” he said. “I have never been in love before and I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. I had my life all mapped out, my priorities in perfect order, as precise as the army’s regimental routine. And then here you came, like a red-haired cyclone, disrupting all my plans, challenging my rules, defying my commands. How was I supposed to maintain order at this garrison when I couldn’t even control a mere wisp of a woman during our constant clash of wills?”

Karissa laughed mischievously as she leaned forward to deliver a smacking kiss to his sensuous lips. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret, General. You’re never going to control me and I’m probably not going to march to the beat of your drum. I have run wild and
free for too many years. I’m afraid I have developed a strong independent streak.”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Ah, well, I suppose I can deal with that, so long as I have you with me. I discovered this past two weeks that my life wasn’t a bit of fun without you in it. I was going to come crawling on my hands and knees to you this evening, as soon as I battled my way through this heap of papers.”

“Really?” When she smiled, Rafe’s heart caved in on itself. “A general crawling on his hands and knees? Damn, I shouldn’t have been so impatient. I would’ve liked to see that.” She grinned saucily as she unfastened the buttons on his jacket. “But better yet, I’d like to see you out of uniform.”

Desire barreled into him like a freight train. His breath stuck in his throat when her hand slid inside his jacket then delved beneath his shirt to make stimulating contact with his flesh. Rafe swept his arm across his cluttered desk, sending papers fluttering to the floor and upending the inkwell. He pulled Karissa down on top of him and kissed her urgently.

“God, I love you, woman. Sass me all you want, but please don’t ever leave me, because I need you. You make me happy.”

“How could I leave when you’ve become the very breath I take, every dream I’ve ever dreamed?” she whispered as she held on to him for dear life. “I thought I could be satisfied if I had a place of my own for the first time in forever. But even that wasn’t enough.”

Pulling her closer, Rafe focused his undivided attention on divesting Karissa of her dress and getting his greedy hands all over her luscious body. “One of these days,” he said huskily. “We really should try making
love on a bed. This desk isn’t going to offer much in the way of comfort.”

She grinned impishly as she peeled off his jacket and shirt. “I’ve discovered that I’m most
comfortable
when I’m wearing nothing but you.”

The thought sent Rafe’s self-control flying out the window. He wanted Karissa out of that confining dress and he wanted her out of it
now.
Whatever gentlemanly reserve he was supposed to possess went the same direction as his self-restraint. He sent buttons popping in his haste to have her naked in his arms. He could replace his uniform and her gown, but he couldn’t replace or duplicate the sensations that surrendering to his love for her sent crashing down upon him.

His hands and lips were all over her curvaceous body and her hands swept over him. They were urgent and impatient for each other. Downright desperate, in fact. There would be time later for gentle loving and whispered endearments that reaffirmed their commitment to each other. But right now, in the heat of the moment, he needed to be as close to Karissa as a man could get to the woman he loved.

He was too breathless and frantic to bother with finesse. He rolled onto his back and lifted her exactly above him. He held her gaze, mesmerized by the fiery desire in her emerald eyes. When she wrapped her hand around his aroused flesh and guided him to her moist, welcoming heat, immeasurable pleasure burned through him until it melted his soul.

This was what he loved best about Karissa, he thought as he arched into her and she met his driving thrusts with the same mindless impatience. She was as wild and unrestrained as the wind sweeping across the plains. She did nothing halfway. Her passion for life, her feisty tem
perament, her tenacity and resilience captivated him, bewitched him. She was the sum composite of what a woman should be—lovely beyond description, lively beyond a man’s wildest dreams and generous of heart and soul.

He had met his match in Karissa, no doubt about that. She could be the general in their household, as long as he had her loyalty and devotion, as long as she filled his nights with incredible lovemaking and his days with fiery spirit.

When she threw back her head, sending the curly tendrils of living flames cascading around her, and rode him until she shimmered around him and cried out his name on a shattered breath, Rafe shuddered in helpless release. He grabbed a handful of that glorious red hair and drew her head down to his. He sealed their all-consuming passion for each other with a searing kiss that expressed what he couldn’t find the words—or the breath—to say.

He held her in his arms for the longest time, buried deep inside her, and realized he’d been a fool for thinking he could settle for the kind of arranged marriage his parents and grandparents had accepted.

Micah was right. Love made all the difference and Rafe couldn’t be content with anything less than being hopelessly in love and being loved wholeheartedly in return.

“What are you thinking?” Karissa murmured as she nuzzled her face against his neck.

He absently stroked her back. “I was thinking how much I love you and that I’m never going to be able to sit down behind this desk without thinking that I would rather be doing
this
with you instead of signing and filing a bunch of bureaucratic papers. The sooner I finish my duties the sooner I can order more lumber and con
tract the laborers to build a home on your new property.”

Karissa blinked at him in surprise. “A home?” she chirped, wide-eyed.

Rafe speared his hands into her hair, letting the flaming tendrils glide through his fingers. “I’m meeting with John Saxton tomorrow to contract the construction project. I thought we might divide our time between our quarters at the garrison and our new home. After all, I will be able to retire from the military in five years and I was thinking of raising cattle to sell to the army posts in the territory.”

Karissa opened and shut her mouth, but no words came out. Rafe was pleased that he had the honor and distinction of leaving her speechless. It didn’t happen often.

Karissa levered up on one elbow to trace the smiling curve of his lips. “You’re doing all this for me?” she asked, her voice wobbly.

“For us,” he assured her softly.

“But I thought your goal in life was to attain the rank of general, like your father and grandfather.”

“I’ve found something intensely more inspiring and satisfying in you. I’m crazy in love with you, Rissa,” he whispered earnestly. “And I will be until long past forever. Marry me.”