Taming Talia (22 page)

Assuming an offended expression, she straightened and jerked her hand from his. “You were pretending to be asleep—all this time? Shame on you, Pinkerton.” Then she smiled. “Mayhap you were playing with my feelings instead.”

Cocking a dark brow in her direction, he levered onto one elbow and grinned. “Knowing full well your fiery disposition, would I dare be so rash?”

“Cheeky fellow. I’ll have you know most of the time I’m a very mild-mannered person.” Natalia stood primly with hands folded while she endeavored to keep her expression meek.

“Except—”

“Except when I’m angry…or in bed.”

“Yes.” He nodded, with a smile playing about his tempting mouth. “Those would be the two exceptions I’ve noted.”

“I believe the subject has been changed ever so subtly.”

“It was a natural progression.”

“I will never leave you, Jared. Can you truly say the same?”

“Back to the topic at hand. When you choose to be, you’re very direct.”

“
Sí
, it pays to be direct when the stakes are high, Pinkerton. Yet again, you have avoided answering my question.”

“Um, what was the question again?”

“Fine.” Tired of playing Jared’s silly game, she squared her shoulders. Ready to sweep from the room, she stopped only because he snatched her wrist.

“I will never leave you, Talia.” Sitting up, he brought her hand to his heart and met her gaze. “I want to make my life here with you on this beautiful ranch where we’ll have many children. Will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

“Before or after the many children?” she asked, teasing him to cover her shock.

“Before, of course.”

After Reginald was murdered, the last thing she ever wanted was another husband. He’d destroyed all her notions of what marriage should be. In her darkest hours, she’d sworn she’d never bind herself to another man. How things had changed in a few days, and it took only the love and attention of a good man. This good man.

“
Sí
,
mi amado
, I will marry you.” Leaning forward, she cradled his face in her hands.

His eyes were warm and soft. “Come here. You’re too far away.” He scooted over and pulled her onto the bed beside him. “Lie with me, Talia.” He gently stroked her cheek. “Let me make love to you for the rest of the night.”

He drew her so close her head rested on his muscled chest, and she could hear the hammering of his heart, even as her own raced along like a runaway horse. “
Sí
, love me for the rest of the night,” she murmured.

Slowly, he peeled away the flannel shirt, revealing her breasts. The shock of cold air on her skin elicited a gasp. Her nipples tightened and tingled for more of his touch. He brought one of her breasts to his mouth. His tongue swirled languorously; then, centering on her nipple, he sucked. Need arrowed to her lower belly, causing her to whimper like a mewling babe. Never had she been treated so tenderly. Tears sprang to her eyes. She loved this man so. And now that he’d declared his love, he was hers for all time. “
Te amo. Te amo. Te amo
.” The words rushed from her lips like a sigh.

His rigid cock pressed into her thigh. He wanted her. He needed her as much as she needed him. She fumbled at the waistband of her trousers.

“Let me,” he said. “I’ve had years of experience.”

Nodding her assent, she smiled. “I suppose you have at that.”

He rolled to his side and unbuttoned the fly of her pants, then slid them down her hips to her thighs. From there, she worked them below her knees and kicked them aside.

She gave an involuntary shiver at the room’s cold air. His arms enveloped her as he pulled her to his warm chest. “Mm, better. Your body is warm as if you still have a fever.”

“It’s not the fever. I’m hot for you and your sweet loving.” He pulled her close until her lower body covered his.

His cock jutted against her belly. More than anything, she wanted to take him inside her and love him for as long as she could. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’re going to hurt me if we don’t make love,” she said, emitting ragged breaths.

She started to speak, but he shushed her. “There’s no rush. We have all night.” He cupped her buttocks, pressing his cock against her. She slid her hand between them and grasped him.

He gasped. “Easy, darlin’.”

“I want you now. I don’t want to wait.” Natalia pushed off his chest and sat astride his hips. “Touch me. I’m wet for you. I’m ready.”

He slipped two fingers into her cleft and groaned as her inner walls clenched around them. “If you’re ready, so am I. He raised her hips, and she centered his cock at her entrance.

He tried to thrust home, but she shook her head. He groaned his frustration.

“Slowly,
mi amado
,” she said, smiling down at him. Deliberately, she allowed his cock to enter an inch, then another, and another. Swirling her hips gently, she pulled away, then repeated the motion over and over until their bodies were straining for more contact. Moaning, he fisted his hands in the sheets as she took her time with their pleasure.

Finally, she took all of him, still squirming her hips to heighten the sensations. Then she began to ride him, at first slowly, then increasing the pace. He cupped her breasts as they bobbed, capturing one nipple between his teeth and raking it, causing curls of pleasure to weave their way through her body.

A rush of heat flooded through her as she rode him. She could never get enough of him…ever. His face flushed, the perspiration beading on his forehead as he strained upward, driving into her core.

Loving him, higher and higher she flew until her world exploded in a kaleidoscope of color. She collapsed in his embrace as he gave one final thrust and groaned.

Limply, her bones molten, she clung to him, gasping for air. “
Te amo
.” Amazingly she felt him stir within her.

He smiled up at her, his silver gaze blazing with heat. “Again, my love?”

“
Sí
, again. And again. And again.”

Chapter Eighteen

The next morning, Jared hobbled out to the stables, leaving Talia still asleep in the bed they’d shared. The sun shone brilliantly on a vast expanse of white. Yesterday’s wind had died down, and while the snow had drifted higher in some areas, the sides of the trench were merely knee-high. Finally, he could saddle his horse and forge his way the half mile to the housekeeper and her husband’s cabin, if not all the way to town.

He quickly took care of feeding his restless stallion and Talia’s gentle mare. Milking the cow wasn’t his favorite task, but after last night’s lusty exertions, Talia needed the brief respite from stable chores. He smiled at the memory of their loving. What a lucky bastard he was to have found a woman like Talia. She was his match in every way.

Back inside the ranch house, Jared set down a load of firewood, then grabbed a knife and cut himself a thick slice of bread. Chewing on the yeasty slice, he tiptoed into the bedroom. Talia still slept, her breathing regular and light.

Unwilling to wake her, he retreated to the kitchen, rummaged through the cabinet drawers until he found a pencil and quickly scratched out a note, telling her his plan for the morning. He left the note on the kitchen table where she would spy it. Soon they would know whether Sarita made it home through the storm to her husband.

Talia would be inconsolable if her housekeeper had perished.

He headed back to the stable, this time to saddle up. Today’s temperature seemed mild compared to that of the previous day. Entering the stable, he heard the nickering of the horses. One of them pawed the ground restively. Midnight, no doubt. Yes, Midnight nodded his head excitedly, as if he sensed freedom was at hand.

Jared quickly bridled and saddled his horse, then led him through the stable door. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his injured leg, he set his left foot in the stirrup and carefully swung his bad leg over the horse’s back. He nudged the horse forward with his heels, and soon they were making their way through the snow, around the side of the ranch house until they reached the front.

He could just make out the dip of the road. Midnight’s muscles were tensed, ready to gallop, but the depth of the snow and the unfamiliar terrain kept Jared from allowing the stallion his head.

Still, he was a man with a mission. An uncompleted mission.

Behind him lay the ranch house and the woman he loved. Ahead lay the way back to civilization, if indeed La Mesa, a town of two hundred or so, could be considered civilization.

In spite of the snow, Midnight appeared to relish the freedom, stepping high in order to move along. Jared kept a tight control on the reins. It wouldn’t do any good to risk his mount by rushing along willy-nilly. The night before, Talia had told him where Sarita and her husband’s cabin would be. In the distant northwest, he made out the snow-covered Rabbit Ear Mountains. Using those visible landmarks and the position of the sun, he guided his horse in a southwesterly direction.

A quick blast of air chilled his neck. He pulled his Stetson down, hunched his shoulders and continued toward the cabin. He could make out a bit of smoke coming from the chimney. Good. Someone was home…and alive.

As he rode closer to the cabin, he could tell someone had started digging out—just as he and Talia had. The area in front of the door was clear, and a partial trench had been dug. Anxious to reach the cabin, he allowed Midnight to move a little faster.

“That’s far enough,” a man’s voice rang out.

Jared could make out that the cabin door was open, and the barrel of a pistol protruded. He stopped and raised his hands, showing he wasn’t holding a weapon. “Pedro?
Señora
Montrose sent me. Is your wife with you?”

“
Sí
.
Mi esposa está muy enferma
.”

While Jared wasn’t fluent in Spanish, he understood the gist of what Pedro’d said. Sarita was very ill. He pointed at the housekeeper’s husband, then toward the hacienda. “
Vamos
.”

The pistol was lowered, and the door opened wider. A short, stocky man with a barrel chest stepped outside. “
Sí
,
señor
.” He then motioned for Jared to dismount and come inside.

Frowning, Jared nodded. Dismounting was a tricky proposition, since a normal dismount would bring his injured leg down first. Instead, he slipped his left foot from the stirrup, swung his bad leg over the horse’s back, and slid off the horse. Not exactly an elegant maneuver, but at least he ended up with both feet on the ground. He hobbled forward, leading Midnight by the reins.

Too fast for Jared’s limited Spanish, Pedro let fly with a rush of words.

“Hold on,
amigo
.” Jared shook his head to let Sarita’s husband know he didn’t understand. He tied the horse’s reins to the hitching post, the top of which was barely visible in the packed snow, and stepped into the small area Pedro had already cleared.

Jared gestured for Sarita’s husband to enter first. The man nodded, and Jared followed. The strain of riding with his bad leg caused the muscles to cramp. There was a dying fire in the fireplace. In the corner lay Talia’s housekeeper, covered in blankets and shivering. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were sunk back in her head. He’d never seen anyone who looked that bad who was still drawing breaths, ragged though they were. The way she coughed, she sounded like she might never breathe again.

If he didn’t do something, the woman was a goner. “
Casa
,” he said, jerking his thumb toward the ranch house. As cold as the ranch house was, they still had a good supply of firewood…and there was that supply of willow-bark tea Talia had used to save his own sorry hide.

Talia would know what to do if he could get her housekeeper back to the ranch house…if she could just survive the trip. The woman was in no condition to ride. He’d have to lay her across the saddle and lead Midnight back to the ranch. A half mile journey on his bad leg. He rubbed his thighs, willing the muscles to relax. No matter how much it hurt or worsened his injury, he had no choice. And best hurry, or Talia would lose her friend and housekeeper as surely as the sun rose each day.

Together, he and Pedro swathed the dying woman in wool blankets and carried her outside, then positioned her carefully over the saddle. “Go ahead,” Jared said. “Tell
Señora
Montrose to prepare a bed. We’re coming.”

Pedro nodded and took off on foot, following the path Jared had created on Midnight. Apparently, Sarita’s husband understood English better than he spoke it. Jared checked the woman’s head, making sure it was wrapped against the cold. Untying the reins, he began the long, half-mile journey back to Talia—long only because of the snow and his injury; otherwise, the distance would’ve been nothing. “Let’s go, fella,” he said. The stallion nodded as if eager. They would follow Pedro as fast as possible.

He took a step and winced. No matter. He’d suffered worse pain in his life, and it would be worth the effort and pain if Sarita survived.

A loud banging startled Talia from a deep sleep. She sat and looked around for Jared. His side of the bed was cold, so he must’ve gone out to see after the animals. The banging kept up. It was coming from the front of the house. She swung her feet to the icy-cold tiles, grabbed the clothes she’d worn the night before and quickly dressed.