Denver (43 page)

“I’ll leave these curling irons. I have plenty of them.”

“Dulcie, please let me pay you.”

“No. I did it because I wanted to. I know how stubborn Dan can be, but I know he needs a good woman.”

“I’m afraid he’ll leave Denver or—” Mary bit off her words, but Dulcie knew full well what she was thinking. He would find another woman. He was not one to go long without one. “Thank you for coming. If I can do anything for you, I’ll be glad to.”

Dulcie laughed. “Honey, you have enough problems right now. Good-bye, Mary, and good luck.”

“Good-bye.” Mary followed her to the carriage and waved as Dulcie left.

She went inside to the kitchen. To her amazement, Faucheux turned to stare at her.

“Mam’selle, la, la! How beautiful you look!”

“Thank you, Faucheux. I won’t be here to help today.”

“Do not concern yourself. I will run the kitchen!”

“Thank you, Faucheux,” she said, leaving the work to him and going out to hitch the wagon. As soon as she finished, she hurried to her room, her heart beating faster as she thought about what she was going to do. She had heard that Dan was playing poker at nights in a saloon, and she was afraid she would miss him and have to wait until the early hours of morning before he returned home, so she moved quickly. She changed clothes, pulling on a dress she had made and had worn only once so far. It was pale green muslin trimmed with tiny silk rosebuds and dark green silk ribbons. Her fingers shook with nervousness, and she prayed that Michael and Brian left home and didn’t come in until late.

Finally she slipped out to get the wagon. She climbed up and moved out of the yard in the dark of night, her pulse pounding.

A dozen blocks away, Dan walked around his bedroom. He had washed and was dressing in plain denim pants and a cotton shirt to go play poker. He hadn’t seen Mary for days now, but time couldn’t erase her from his thoughts. He was relieved to have had the talk with Michael. He would have been happy to hire Michael, because he could use his help.

He heard a knock at the back door and frowned, moving through his house to open it. Mary stood in front of him, her hair softly framing her face, falling in a shimmering cascade. She looked more beautiful than ever.

His heart seemed to slam against his ribs as he stared at her as if she were an apparition.

“May I see you, Dan?”

He glanced beyond her at the wagon behind his house, the horse hitched to a post. “Come inside.”

She entered and looked at him in uncertainty. He motioned her toward the parlor, and lit the lamps while she sat on the settee. She looked embarrassed, frightened, and uncertain as he moved around the room. Her cheeks were pink, and as he looked at her, he
realized there was something different about her. She looked prettier than ever, and all he really wanted to do was kiss her.

“I’d like to talk to you,” she said quietly, and suddenly his heart felt torn in two. He knew how shy she was where men were concerned, and how difficult it must have been for her to come to his house. If it were anyone else, her reputation would have been at risk, but Dan suspected everyone in town accepted Mary as being so prim and proper that a breath of scandal couldn’t touch her.

He walked over to pull her to her feet. Her hands were like ice in his, and he looked down at her, feeling touched, fighting all the natural urges he felt. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said gently. “Michael would give me hell.”

“Michael doesn’t know. Now I want to talk to you,” she said solemnly, and his hurt deepened. She sounded as if she had rehearsed for this moment.

“Mary, I appreciate your coming to talk, but we’ve talked,” he explained gently.

“You’ve broken your engagement to Louisa Shumacher, so I take it you care for me,” she said, as if he hadn’t said a word to her.

He groaned. “You know it’s more than care, but, Mary, this isn’t right. I’m going to take you home.”

“No, you’re going to listen to me. I’m entitled to that from you.”

“Honey, don’t you know what this is doing to me? I’m trying to exercise some control, Mary. I’m trying to keep promises. If we get into another discussion—hell, if you stand here alone with me another ten minutes…You have to go home, honey.”

“I’m not going until you tell me something. Do you love me?”

He drew a deep breath and felt as if he were drawing a knife into his lungs. “You know I love you!”

“You haven’t ever told me.” That was the one thing that had made her uncertain. She had to hear him say what he felt. She had to know without a doubt that it was only Silas holding him back. “Dan, for just a
minute, forget Silas. I’m not a beautiful woman like Louisa or Dulcie—”

“Oh, damn,” he said, and sounded so pained that she was shocked. He moved back a step and clenched his fists. His voice was a rasp. “You’re the most beautiful woman I know. Absolutely, Mary. And you look more beautiful tonight than ever.”

“Thank you,” she said, suddenly swamped with uncertainty. She hadn’t expected the reaction she got, and it shook her momentarily and deterred her from her plans. She took a deep breath.

Before she could speak, he said, “I want you to go. I can’t carry you out to your wagon, but you shouldn’t be here. I can’t keep my control much longer. Mary, please. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Please. Think of Silas.”

“I do not love Silas Eustice,” she said clearly, raising her chin. “I’ll never love him. I will never marry him. We’re not engaged. He said to wait for him, and I thought I loved him when he left, but that was years ago, Dan. Years! I’ve grown and changed in that time, and I can see that I never loved Silas the way I do you,” she said simply.

Dan paced across the room, stoking the fire, turning coals and watching them burn and glow. He tried desperately to keep from rushing to Mary to haul her into his embrace. He faced her as she talked.

“If you love me, then we need to talk, because you’ll take all my joy and happiness if you leave Denver. I won’t find it with Silas. It’s you, and it will always be you.”

Her cheeks had become heated and her words slowed. She burned with embarrassment, making such declarations to him while he stood there staring at her.

“Mary, do you know what kind of man takes another man’s woman? His best friend’s woman?” He ground out the words and his face had paled.

Suddenly she felt more certain of what she was doing. “It would have to be the kind of man who is very deeply in love with a woman who loves him deeply in return. I am not Silas Eustice’s woman,” she said
firmly, facing his fiery blue eyes. ‘I was never his in any sense of the word. There’s no ring on my finger, and he never possessed me. Nor did he have my heart. Dan, this is so hard. How long are you going to make me stand here and suffer and feel foolish?”

His control vanished, and all thoughts of Silas went along with it. He swore and closed the distance between them to wrap his arms around her and bend his head to kiss her. His mouth came down on hers so firmly she couldn’t breathe, and she loved it. She shrugged her arms free to wrap them around his neck and cling to him as the kiss overcame her. She felt something wet and opened her eyes, leaning back to see that his cheeks were wet.

“Dan!”

He groaned and pulled her to him to kiss her again. She clung to him wildly, knowing in her heart that he loved her. This was her man and she was his woman, and sooner or later he would have to acknowledge it openly.

With his pulse roaring in his ears, Dan held her and kissed her. His control was gone, and he wasn’t going to struggle to get it back, because Mary was the most precious person on earth, and for right now, he was going to do what she wanted. She had sworn she didn’t love Silas, and he would wrestle with that later. At the moment he couldn’t get enough of her—he wanted to kiss her senseless, to touch her and hold her. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but he couldn’t talk. His throat was raw, his emotions equally raw.

He wound his fingers in her soft hair and kissed her, feeling her hips move against him. He swung her into his arms and sat down on the sofa, holding her on his lap while he kissed her, running his hand down over her high, small breasts. She gasped and moaned softly as he flicked his thumbs over the peaks of her breasts.

Mary felt his arousal press against her. Her senses spun in a tumbling jumble of emotions and sensations. Joy and desire burned like a flame while Dan stroked
and kissed her, and stirred feelings she had never known.

He wanted her so badly, and reason couldn’t be summoned back now, in the heat of passion. Mary was responsive and eager in his arms, so innocent, and he wanted her desperately. He kissed her, his hands going behind her to unfasten the buttons of her dress. Finally he pushed away her dress, and she wore only a simple cotton shift. Her eyes were enormous as he looked at her. “Dan, my knee is scarred from the childhood accident.”

“Do you think that would bother me?” he asked so tenderly her heart swelled with love.

He stood up, his hands on her hips as she stood in front of him. She reached out to tug his shirt out of his pants and pull it over his head. He saw that her shyness and timidity were gone. Her hands played across his chest, and the look she gave him mirrored his scalding need.

He pulled away the chemise, dropping it on the floor, and stood back to look at her, his hands on her hips.

“Mary,” he breathed softly, wanting her. He scooped her into his strong arms and carried her back to his bedroom to place her on his brass bed.

“I love you,” she whispered, watching him. He finished undressing until he was as naked as she, and then he moved close to the bed to stroke her.

“I don’t know anything about this, Dan,” she said hesitantly, her cheeks flaming. “I never…”

“Shh,” he whispered, coming down to pull her into his arms. “Let me show you what’s good when a man and woman really love each other.”

She stroked him, moving back to look at him. His body was golden, muscled, with a mat of golden curls across his chest. His hips were pale in contrast, his legs covered in short blond hair. While her heart pounded violently, she drew her fingers down his chest, over his flat belly, finally touching the most private part of him. She heard his deep intake of breath while she stroked and held him.

“Mary,” he said with another groan, and moved
her hands. “Let me touch you,” he whispered. He caressed her, and her eyes closed as his lips met hers. He kissed her passionately. Her senses were stormed as he continued to shower her with kisses, touching her, caressing her until she felt wild with need, a physical yearning she had never known before.

Finally he moved above her, nudging her legs apart with his knee, coming between her smooth thighs. Her heart pounded with joy because this was the love of her life. His gaze raked over her, and her blood thundered in her ears.

She touched him before he came down. His mouth covered hers, his arms holding her, and he thrust slowly into her softness. Mary held back a cry. She felt as if she would burst with him.

“Move your hips,” he whispered. “Put your legs around me, Mary.”

She did, and let out a small cry that was muffled by his kisses as his control vanished. His slender hips thrust swiftly. Suddenly pain was transformed to sensations that rocked her and made her gasp with need. Ecstasy tore at her, and she moved in a frenzy, wanting more, wanting Dan forever, finally crying out softly.

“Mary, love!” he ground out the words in her ear as he held her. “My Mary, my love,” he said, and she tightened her arms around him, clinging to his strong body, yielding in the knowledge she was giving herself forever.

His weight finally came down on her, and he stroked and kissed her, trailing light kisses across her shoulder, her neck, her ear, until he rose to look into her eyes.

“I love you,” he said solemnly.

“And I love you,” she returned, stroking his cheek.

“I have to marry you now,” he said.

“I think maybe you do,” she answered. Wonder filled her at the thought that this marvel of a man loved her.

“Silas may try to kill me, Mary. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“I’ll talk to Silas, but it wasn’t right for us to have to refuse our love over a man who doesn’t really love me. Dan, Silas loves gold.”

“No. He talked by the hour about you. He loves you, Mary.”

“I don’t think he really does. Would you rather go away for years and find a fortune than see the woman you love?”

“No, but that’s different. Your hair is different. It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she answered, having decided hours ago that she wasn’t bringing Dulcie into the conversation. She ran her fingers through his hair and across his shoulder. “I’m so glad you love me. I don’t know how you can. I’m not Louisa Shumacher, but I’m—”

“I’m thankful you’re not Louisa Shumacher, and you’re the most beautiful woman on earth.”

She laughed and stroked his jaw, suddenly burying her face against his throat and crying. Dan held her tightly, stroking her, letting her cry because he understood what she felt. “Mary, I never really knew what love was. I was so captivated by women who were gorgeous that I didn’t look beyond beauty for anything else.”

She lay back, looking up at him, running her finger along his jaw while he talked. He moved beside her, propping his head on his hand and gazing into her eyes with a look that made happiness flood her. “I got to be friends with you, and I realized you were the most important person in the whole world to me. I like to share everything with you. I never talked to Louisa. I never talked to anyone else, for that matter.” He paused and looked down at her. “Will you marry me?”

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him wildly before finally pulling away. “Yes!”

He gazed at her somberly. “So now I have to face Silas.”

“Dan, I don’t love Silas.”

“You would have if I hadn’t come along.”

“You don’t know that for sure, and he may never come back.”

“Oh, hell, Mary. He seemed so damned in love with you, and I know why he felt that way. You’re one in a million. He wants to marry you. He’s doing all that for you.”