New Frontier of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 2) (29 page)

He was so close. She could see it in the way he looked at her.

More importantly, she saw how hard he was looking at himself. Sam had come out here hoping a new place would heal him, make him forget his tortuous memories. But instead, the wilderness was a mirror, forcing him to look inside himself, at the most unflattering parts.

At first, he was reluctant to leave with Catherine, but he realized he needed to calm his rage. He’d always considered himself a smart man, and smart men didn’t allow their anger to cause them to make mistakes.

If a second witness could not be found, he might have to go after Foley himself, but he would form a plan first.

For now, he had to come to terms with how he truly felt about Catherine. About the love she offered.

He wasn’t entirely sure he was doing the right thing. In fact, he
was quite certain he wasn’t. He was taking them both into dangerous territory. Once he started kissing her again, there would be no going back. He had held his emotions and his body at bay far too long. He could almost feel love fighting its way out of his gristly heart.

He found it hard to believe, but she wanted him. His mind burned with the hot memory of their kiss, a tantalizing taste of the passion that could erupt between them. But it came with a price tag—marriage. He wasn’t going to take advantage of her. He was a man of honor and she was a lady. He would not disrespect her by yielding to their mutual lust. If he took her now, it would be for life. He had to stay in control.

He studied Catherine as they rode. She held her gelding with confidence and appeared remarkably elegant even on the back of a horse. Her dagger added to her striking appearance, giving her a look of quiet courage and strong mettle. She also looked extraordinarily sensuous. Her stays, which kept her back perfectly straight, had the added benefit of pushing her full bosom up to display soft mounds at the top of her gown. Her waist seemed impossibly small and her legs nearly as long as his. And her lovely face held a smile so dazzling it competed with the afternoon sun. He admired the perfection of her striking high cheekbones and strong jawline, but it was the strength of her character that impressed him most of all.

“You’re staring Sam,” Catherine said.

He nodded, managing a smile, but not trusting himself to speak. He turned his eyes to the path ahead.

How could she possibly love him? She was too fine, too beautiful, and too perfect. And he was anything but those things. He was rough, worn, and far from perfect. He had spent most of
his life out in the open and it showed. Although his parents raised him to be a gentleman, he never looked the part. Nor did he want to. That just wasn’t him.

But, she said she loved him.

Since the Revolution, his entire life had been a denial of love. It had been about deep-seated hatred and revenge. Could he let his feelings for her float to the top?

“What are you thinking?” she asked, inclining her head and peering over at him.

Sam hesitated, not wanting to reveal his thoughts just yet. He was still sorting them out.

“You think this is too big a risk don’t you? You’re not convinced that I really could love you.” There was a gentle and compassionate tone in her voice.

“That’s part of it,” he admitted.

“What’s the rest of it?”

He remained silent.

“Sam, tell me. Don’t you find me desirable?” Catherine asked, sounding close to tears now.

Sam could have laughed, but didn’t. He had been fighting to keep his desire from showing since they’d left camp. His lips longed for hers as he had never longed for anything else. He wanted to savor the taste of her mouth and let her essence swirl through him.

A large majestic oak stood proudly in the center of the meadow. He motioned Catherine to follow and loped over to it, then dismounted and quickly tied Alex to a heavy branch that drooped nearly to the ground. Each of the tree’s four old branches
pointed in different directions. It was an Indian Trail tree. Natives tied the branches with stakes forcing them to grow in each of the four directions as an aide in finding their way in the wilderness when darkness or clouds obscured the sun. Maybe the sacred tree would point his life in the right direction.

As he helped Catherine down from her horse, her waist felt firm and stiff under her stays, and it flamed his growing desire even more. He felt as if his insides were on fire and his head was going to blow off his shoulders. How could he think clearly feeling like this? Heaven help him, he couldn’t.

After tying her horse to another one of the oak’s branches, he took her face in his hands and lowered his lips to hers. Her kiss, hot as his blood, caused a shockwave that made his entire body shudder. It went far beyond the impact of their first kiss. Now, not only did his body experience it—his soul did as well—as though she kissed more than just his mouth. Her passion seemed to touch every part of him.

He gathered her against his trembling body.

He had never felt these overwhelming sensations before. He marveled at the intensity of feelings that could make the rest of the world disappear, as if nothing else mattered.

The few times in his life that he had coupled with a woman had been quick and lukewarm at best, with little kissing and no affection. The empty experiences left him feeling only regrets and guilt. And a hope that someday making love with a woman would be just that—making
love
.

Just from kissing her, he could tell that making love with her would be utterly different. Her lips and mouth seemed made for his, as they joined with his to form a perfect union. And the thought of joining with her made his imagination go wild. He only
knew he was lost—lost to the swirling fiery chaos happening within his body.

He wanted to go on kissing her forever to keep feeling as he did now, but his hands thought otherwise. They took over his will and began to move over her body. First, down her back and the curves of her bottom, to the top of her legs. Just touching her made his blood hot. He drew her close, feeling the softness of her breasts press up against his chest. Oh, how he longed to feel their warmth in his hands. He rubbed a single finger against the bare skin of her neck and shoulder.

“Catherine, do you have any idea what you do to me?” he breathed.

“Probably the same thing you do to me.”

She ran her fingertips and nails across the opening at the top of his shirt. The sensations she drew from him with just that simple touch surprised him. It made him want to tear the new shirt off his back.

“I’ve never felt like this.” His voice broke with uneven huskiness.

“Neither have I,” she whispered into his neck. “Kiss me Sam, and never, ever stop.”

He kissed her until she groaned from deep in her throat. When he deepened the kiss, her lips and body asked for more. And he wanted to comply. They were both trembling with desire.

Then she nearly pleaded, “Sam, I want you, all of you,” her voice fierce, yet sensual.

“I need to find us a safe shelter.” If he was going to make love to her, he would take his time—savor every moment exploring her exquisite body. “We can’t. Not here, not now, out here in the
middle of an open pas….ture.” His breath caught as she started untying his leather breeches.

“Indeed we can,” she said, her voice sensuous and insistent as she rubbed her soft fingers across his abdomen. “The grass is tall, and soft.”

“I wish we were a thousand miles from anywhere.”

The tight muscles of his stomach tightened even further. In fact, his whole body was growing rigid with desire. He could not believe this well-bred lady was willing to love him out here in the middle of a pasture. But her feelings had nothing to do with reason. She was entirely caught up in her own desire.

He couldn’t deny the excitement at the prospect of loving her right here, but his warrior instincts kept springing to life. “It isn’t…safe, we’re out in the open,” he struggled to say.

Could he let down his guard long enough to enjoy their coupling? Could he stop thinking for once long enough to just
feel
?

Then she touched him again, lower, and he decided he could. He definitely could let down his guard. Right here. Right now.

His hand enveloped the back of her head and he brought her lips to his. This time his kiss was deep, exploring, and even more fervent. If it was possible for a kiss to be claim someone, this one did. He wanted to make her his, so he could go on kissing her like this for the rest of his life.

Then, a dark corner of his mind leapt up, warning him to stop.

If he didn’t stop now, he was committed. Committed to her for life. Would she grow tired of the wilderness and want to return to all that Boston offered? Worse, what if something happened to her too? His heart did a back flip.

He quickly stepped away, trying to get the blood flowing into his head again. He needed to think. Looking down, he ran the fingers of both hands through his hair.

“What?” Catherine asked. “Please, I want you to go on. I know it wouldn’t be proper. But I don’t care anymore. You said we have to make our own rules here in the west. What’s important is that I love you Sam. That’s my destiny. If you stop now, it will kill me, I’m sure.”

“That’s what has me worried,” he confessed, his voice cracking. “Something or someone killing you.” Unable to stand the look of anguished disappointment on her face, he turned his back to her. He took a few steps away. “I’ve had too many people I loved taken away. I couldn’t stand it if you were too.”

Then she took a step toward him. “Sam, even if we have only one day on this earth together, I will love you forever.”

He spun around, suddenly sure he wanted her back in his arms. “There’s something important I want to say. Catherine, I….”

Before he could finish, he stared in stunned disbelief. Then in horror, as she collapsed to the ground.

CHAPTER 28

S
tephen’s big stallion was the first to thunder into their camp. He quickly glanced around but the only sounds of commotion came from the children playing, and William, Bear, and the Judge riding in behind him.

“What’s going on?” John yelled to him.

“Is everything all right?” Jane asked, concerned.

“Frank Foley has escaped. His brother broke him out of jail,” Stephen said. “They came this direction. We thought he came here.”

“They must have skirted around our camp so they could make a clean getaway,” William suggested.

“We saw no sign of them,” John said, loading his pistol. His rifle carelessly leaned against a nearby wagon wheel.

“We’re all fine, but Catherine and Sam are still gone,” Jane said, sounding worried.

“John, stand guard while we circle the area,” Stephen ordered. “And load that rifle too.”

The horseback men split into two groups, Bear with Stephen, and William with Judge Webb. They rode in opposite directions searching the area about a hundred yards out from the perimeter of the camp.

Stephen found the three children playing hide-and-go-seek with Kelly in a tiny clearing on the other side of camp. He heard Kelly call out, “Ollie, Ollie oxen free,” signaling that she had caught one of the children and the others were all free to come out. He remembered playing the game with his brothers as a youngster, but was too worried to enjoy the memory. He rode up and instructed her to hurry them over to the center of their camp and put the children in Jane’s wagon.

By the time he and Bear returned, William and the Judge were waiting for them. None of the men spotted anything of concern. Now they just had to locate Catherine and Sam.

“I’ll find them,” Stephen told the other men. “Sam needs to know Foley’s out there somewhere. The rest of you stay here with the women and children. Frank and Bud probably went to meet up with their men and then they may come back here.”

As the others dismounted, including the Judge, Stephen checked his weapons and got an extra pistol and ball pouch. Then Bear helped him locate the nearby tracks of Sam and Catherine’s horses. Stephen took off following the tracks that led away from the main road heading west.

“Watch yer back,” Bear yelled after him. “That rake is the type to shoot you in the back.”

The tracks led to a narrow trail that ran parallel to the river. It was clear the two were just leisurely walking their horses. Stephen wanted to catch up to them before Foley did. If given half a chance, Sam would kill the traitor even if it meant sacrificing his
own life to do it.

Stephen rode through grass that reached his stirrup, keeping a careful watch for anyone who might be hiding in the dense brush and trees that followed the path of the river. A thick copse of pines made long dark afternoon shadows in the field. Stephen scanned the area carefully for signs of either Sam or Foley.

About a half-mile away, the tracks led back to the main road. There he noticed another set of fresh tracks. Frank and Bud’s? Almost immediately, he heard a shot. The report came from the middle of a nearby pasture.

He turned George in the direction of the sound and gave the horse his head. At a fast gallop, it was only a minute or two before he caught sight of Sam.