Pioneer Passion (32 page)

“Don’t go,” he pleaded with a catch in his
voice. He grunted and walked over to the bed hoping the slight
bulge in his jeans was unnoticeable, but sitting only made him more
uncom-fortable and aware of his desire. Part of him wanted her to
go; the unreasoning part of him wanted her to stay.

“I’m feeling much better, thank you. But I’m
still plagued with headaches,” he lied, hating himself once more.
It was for the best, he had to stall for time. Tightness gripped
his stomach; it wasn’t bad enough to be false to his sister, he had
lied to Susan. His head began to really ache and he sat on the
chair.

“Susan,” he slouched, placing his weary head
into his hands. “I...” He started to speak, and then his words got
lost somewhere. Why does my tongue feel like granite?

“Yes?”

Scott shook his head. “Nothing,” he mumbled
unable to form the words even though he wanted to tell her. Could
he risk the chance she might hate him if he told her the truth?
God, he needed someone to talk to. All the words were right there
in his head; they just couldn’t find a way out. Coward! Many uneasy
moments passed when a noise from outside brought him into the
present.

“Well, I’m, err, I have to go help Mattie
with supper.” That’s all she said and was gone.

Scott stared at the empty room feeling so
alone.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Rusty didn’t see Guy that day and ate her
meal with Scott who was up to eating some of Mattie’s soup. She
decided to relax her taut body in a hot bath, but it didn’t help
much as her thoughts were on the talk she should have with Guy that
night. She donned a silk nightgown and dabbed a little rose water
behind her ears and between her breasts. She tied her auburn hair
in a ribbon, letting the soft curls fall unchecked about her
shoulders. The candle burned down and Guy had not come in. Worried,
Rusty left her room, put on a wrap and went down to the barn. Too
busy with Scott all day, she never bothered about her husband and
the mare Susan said he was tending. Now more than curious, she went
searching; the light in the barn told her he was still there.

She thought of Peaches. Surely the colt
should have been born by now. Her mind was so cluttered with past
events; she forgot how she was clothed and ran, then stopped short
when entering the barn. Guy’s hands were in the mare’s birth canal,
his sleeve soaked with blood. She uttered a soft cry, momentarily
losing her balance; the sight brought back the memory of Bonnie’s
delivery.

Guy’s head snapped up at her small cry of
alarm. He seemed annoyed at the distraction and he barked, “Don’t
just stand there practically naked. Help me!”

The command was quick and throaty and the
sharpness of his voice startled her. “W-what do y-you want me to
d-do?” she stammered, feeling his eyes burning her flesh.

“Hold Peaches’ head tightly and talk to her.
Tell her everything’s going to be all right. She may not understand
but your soothing voice will calm her down.”

Rusty’s heart went out to the suffering
animal; first Bonnie, now the mare. She wasn’t sure she liked the
idea of motherhood. She looked over to see how Guy was doing, but
all she could see was the top of his dark head. The horse whinnied
in pain and her stomach lurched; she swallowed the bile that rose
in her throat as she tried to calm Peaches.

“It’s all right, girl. You’re going to be a
proud mama soon. Hush, be still. Try to relax so it won’t hurt so
much.” She felt foolish saying these things to the animal, but the
horse seemed to lay calm after her soothing words, as if she
understood.

“Come on, girl, push!” She heard Guy yell.
“That’s it. A little more, your baby’s almost out. A little more.
C’mon, thata girl,” he said and she heard the fondness and pride
his voice.

Rusty let go of Peaches’ head and stood in
time to see a small horse lying in the straw. Her husband let out a
whoop and fell back heavily on the hay, his limbs out-stretched.
She flung herself down next to him and placed butterfly kisses on
his face. She was laughing and kissing him until she felt steely
arms tighten around her and he kissed her back. Her face, her neck,
her whole body was smothered with hot searing kisses.

Dispute the cold she burned and thought she
would die from the thrill of it. But then everything stopped with
the same swiftness it started.

“As much as I’d like to make love to you,
sweetheart, I think it would be better if we went to our room.
Furthermore, right now both our bodies are covered with the stench
of warm blood.”

Rusty looked at herself, ashamed for her
actions and crinkled her nose at the smell, frowning at the messy
sight she presented. She cooled her ardor for now and stood with
Guy’s help. Peaches was busy cleaning off her new colt as the soggy
looking thing stood on wobbly legs. It fell a few times, but
unmindful of his mother’s attention, the baby continued to try and
stand again until he got it right. She and Guy had to laugh at the
comical sight.

Arm and arm, they went into the main house,
Rusty anticipating the night ahead. Although she still had to talk
to her husband, she felt a few more hours wouldn’t make much
difference.

Entering the house, he proclaimed, “I think
we both could use a hot bath.” He winked with a provocative smile
on his lips and she caught the gist of his meaning; she felt her
cheeks flooded with color. “Oh, Guy, we can’t do that.” Her throat
tightened so that her voice came out in a silly squeal and Guy
threw his head back with a quick throaty laugh.

“Still a blushing bride, I see.”

He grinned a little too self-assuredly, she
thought, and protested, “It’s not that. It’s just not decent. I
mean....” She looked about making sure they weren’t overheard, but
everyone else was asleep.

“Ma’am, we’re married,” he simply stated the
truth. He then left her sitting nonplused in their bedroom while he
heated water. He returned later, and before Rusty could speak, he
picked her up and carried her into the bathroom.

She was in no position to object, unless of
course she wanted to wake up everyone in the house, so it was
useless to argue any further. “I still feel this is wrong,” she
whispered as Guy placed her on her feet. He wasn’t listening and
unlaced her gown with teasing fingers. Every soft stroke of his
knuckles against her breasts made her heart race. She felt familiar
moisture between her legs. When the blood stained gown fell around
her ankles to lie in a puddle of sheer silk, her knees buckled
beneath her.

Guy scooped up her limp body, placing her in
the porcelain basin. Eyes closed, her body ablaze with a mixture of
excitement and embarrassment as she felt Guy slip smoothly behind
her. His long muscled legs were around her like a vice and his hard
erection was butting against her backside. She gasped when he
grabbed her taut nipples with his greedy hands. A deep laugh
rumbled in his chest making her feel hotter. Was there no limit to
his loving?

“I can hold you like this forever,” he
whispered hotly into her ear.

She could swear the water was steaming from
the fire in her body and all thoughts of caring whether this was
proper or not were abandoned. She was like a moth wrapped in the
cocoon of his strong loving arms. Wonderful, overlapping sensations
flooded her being in places she never knew existed. Deep moans of
pleasure came forth uncontrollably from her tight throat and Guy’s
sensual lips burned the nape of her neck where he placed feathery
kisses. His touch evoked such a rush of tingling that she found it
hard to cope with all the different sensations.

Guy slipped his hand between her thighs,
slightly parting them. He teased the dark red curls on her mound,
and she felt him grow hard against her back. Rusty rested her back
against his chest, causing her rosy-tip nipples to peek out of the
bath water. She saw her skin glistened from tiny water drops
highlighted by the flickering candlelight. Without warning, Guy
stood abruptly, taking her with him splashing water over the
rim.

The cool air hit her hot flesh, making her
suck in her breath. Annoyed at his quick and untimely leap, she
turned and opened her mouth to reprimand him only to have her lips
fused with his in a searing kiss. Her cool body quickly ignited
again as hot flesh mingled with hot flesh. Rusty wrapped her arms
around his neck, returning his ardent kiss, her tongue seeking and
probing. Once again he astounded her by lifting her legs around his
narrow hips to slip inside of her. She was so fully aroused he was
able to ease himself smoothly into her. Was there no end to this
man’s surprises? Rusty laid her head on his shoulder, digging her
fingers into his wet flesh and yielded, letting her emotions fly on
raven’s wings into the galaxy.

The next morning, before leaving their cozy
bed, Rusty confessed to Guy about Scott’s true identify. She felt
awful that she couldn’t confide in him about her brother’s
suspicions. But withholding information on this matter wasn’t
really a lie and she had convinced herself it was for Guy’s own
good.

“I’m happy that you volunteered the
information, but I had suspected from the first day that there was
something you neglected to admit to.” He told her there was too
much of a family resemblance not to know and said there was no real
harm in their little charade and he understood Scott’s anxiety.

“Guy.” Rusty placed a tender kiss on his
unsuspecting mouth; she was relieved that her husband understood
the basis for their reluctance to confess sooner. “There’s
something more. I have one more secret I’d like to tell.” She
laughed nervously and swallowed hard wondering if he’d be happy.
His brows arched and he had such a strange look on his handsome
face, she feared that he did know what her brother was hiding.

She swallowed hoping he didn’t suspect, this
time she believed that Scott was right in keeping the whole truth
from Guy. “I.., I, um, we’re going to have a baby,” she blurted out
lowering her gaze. Her comment went unanswered for a long moment
and she was afraid to look up to see what expression was on his
face. Then, his arms hugged her tightly and he lifted her quivering
chin with his long fingers.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” She felt uneasy at his long
pause, still unaware what he was thinking. Then he smiled a
genuinely warm smile and tears of joy filled her eyes. “Oh, you,”
she elbowed him in the ribs for making her fret. She tried to glare
at him, to tell him she hadn’t appreciated his teasing, but she was
unable to wipe the happiness out of her heart.

The two weeks Scott was on the mend crept by
and on occasions Rusty heard his pacing around in the room. When
she confronted him, he insisted he had bad headaches and some
dizziness even though Dr. Samuels had examined him and proclaimed
him fit. She thought he looked healthy enough to resume some easier
chores. Her brother insisted he still felt weak and she wondered if
he was afraid to talk to the marshal about the rustlers. She didn’t
think he was a coward, but she felt something was wrong.

Her suspicions were confirmed three days
later when she roused herself from sleep after hearing a noise out
back. The bed was empty and her first assumption was that Guy was
in the barn. Walking to the window, she pushed back the curtains.
The moon shone bright that night, making it clear enough to see
that the rider who galloped out of the barn was her brother. She
feared that he was definitely up to something and although she
dreaded it, she had to tell Guy about Scott’s information about the
rustlers. Was Scott going after them himself? The floor began to
tilt as she agonized over what to do. Scott may be in danger. Could
she send Guy after her brother putting him in danger also?

Quickly, Rusty dressed and ran from the room
only to collide with a brick wall. Strong arms reached out to
steady her. She found the wind temporarily knocked out of her and
winced in her struggle for freedom. Guy’s hands were squeezing her
wrists too tightly and they were beginning to burn. “G-Guy!” she
stammered. “What are y-you doing up a-at this time of the n-night?”
She trembled, knowing she was caught appearing as if she were up to
no good and surely, she looked as guilty as she felt.

“May I ask you the same question?” he
bristled.

How was she going to explain? Seeing the hurt
and pain etched in his face, and then something in his dark eyes
flickered, she winced. Was it disappointment? He finally released
her and she rubbed her aching wrists as tears filled her eyes.

“Let’s go back in our room,” he ordered. “I
don’t want to wake the whole household.”

The command was clipped and blunt and she
complied. She turned as he followed her and shut the door. He
leaned on it, waiting for her explanation. It was time for the
truth… but, she was not as brave as she would have liked to think
she was.

She wrung her hands nervously and tired to
explain. “Scott has been acting strangely lately. I… err. I mean, I
believe he was pretending to be sicker than he really was. Um,
err....” She swallowed. “You see he was supposed to talk to the
marshal about....” she faltered. Cripes, this wasn’t coning out
right.

Rusty tried to gather her thoughts and wits.
She wouldn’t be so nervous if Guy wasn’t staring at her so
intensely. You’d think she was in on the rustling. Well, she was
only keeping the truth from him so he wouldn’t get hurt. He won’t
make her feel guilty over that! Bringing her chin up, determined
not to be intimidated by him, she consoled herself.

I did nothing wrong but love him too
much.

She sobered. “I’m sorry, Guy, but Scott asked
me not to say anything until he spoke with the marshal.” She stood
tall and tossed her head haughtily, retorting more calmly than she
felt inside. “I love you very much, and....” Despite her resolve,
she started to falter seeing the impatient flash in his squinting
eyes. She had to turn her back on him if she was going to finish
with any dignity at all. Anxiously, she continued. “Scott thought
he found the men who were stealing your cattle. We both felt you
might have tried flushing them out by yourself, and get hurt...
maybe killed.” Her voice choked on the last words by the persistent
lump in her throat that remained throughout her confession. “Scott
wasn’t too sure they were the right men,” she continued, and bit
her lower lip, “Um… he only wanted time to...to. Oh, Guy, you must
believe me. I only held beck the information because I love you so
and....”