Thunder on the Plains (42 page)

“I love you, Colt. I love you so much,” she murmured between kisses.

Somehow he had moved between her legs, or had she just opened them naturally and willingly? He grasped her face in his big, strong hands, resting on top of her for a moment, his powerful shoulders lifting him over her.

“God help me, I love you too,” he told her, his jaw flexing as though he were struggling against the feeling. “I don't know what's going to happen after today, Sunny, but damn you, I do love you, and I want to be inside you…” She closed her eyes and gasped his name. “I want to make love to you, Sunny, over and over,” he groaned, “until neither of us can find the breath or the energy to move.”

He kissed her eyes, licked her mouth while he reached down to unbuckle his gun belt. He tossed it aside and began unlacing his leggings and unbuttoning his long johns.

“Say it again, Colt,” she begged, her eyes closed. “Tell me what you'll do to me. I want to hear it, feel it—”

“I want you, Sunny. I need to feel myself inside of you. Give yourself to me.”

The words made her feel wild and free. He met her mouth savagely then, shoving his tongue deep. She returned the kiss, her arms reaching around his neck and her tongue meeting his. She wondered at the wildness he brought out in her. She realized it had been there all the time, waiting to erupt at just the right moment. She arched against him, feeling as though she could not get close enough, touch deep enough, be wicked enough.

“Yes, Colt,” she gasped. “Make love to me until I die. It has to be you, just you!” She screamed then, unable to say another word for the pain that hit her hard and fast. He surged inside of her, and for a brief moment she wanted to push him away and beg him to stop, but she understood that Colt would never cause her pain unless he could bring her indescribable pleasure too.

He reminded her of a grand stallion taking his mare. The pain was cutting and deep, yet before he finished she began to experience through the pain another sensation, a deep need to take him inside herself, to please him greatly and take her own pleasure in return. She knew now the glory of it, the beauty of offering herself to a man she loved. She wondered briefly if she could have stood the pain if it had been Blaine. Surely loving and wanting the man the way she loved and wanted Colt made this first time more bearable.

Moments later she felt him shudder and then relax. For a moment neither of them said a word. “My God,” Colt finally muttered, brushing her hair with his lips. “What have we done, Sunny?”

“It's all right,” she answered.

“Sunny, it's not all right—”

“Don't say it! Don't say it,” she begged. She leaned back and kissed him, and it was only then she realized he had tears on his cheeks. She brushed them away with her fingers. “Not yet, Colt. I don't want to talk yet. I don't care what Casement thinks. I told him I might want to camp out under the stars all night. I said it because I knew if this happened, I couldn't bear to leave you and go back to that train right away. Let's just be together, today, tonight, tomorrow.”

He drew in a deep breath, resting on one elbow and moving his other hand to massage her belly. “I must have hurt you.”

She smiled through tears. “Only at first. I don't care, Colt. I wanted it this way. No matter what happens, I'll always love you, and you'll have been my first man.” Her tears came harder then. “Hold me, Colt. Just hold me.”

He pulled her into his arms. Overhead a hawk circled, riding the winds and casting its shadow over the scene below—a black mare grazing nearly a half mile away, a painted Appaloosa a quarter of a mile in a different direction. A gun belt and various articles of clothing lay strewn along a pathway of crushed spring grass that in turn led to the nearly naked bodies of a man and a woman who lay holding each other, quietly weeping.

“We'll camp here tonight.” Colt led Dancer through a grove of cottonwood trees to the Platte. “We can wash in the river, and we're less likely to be seen down in here in case someone should come along.”

Sunny watched him, loving the way he moved, the way he sat a horse, the look of his powerful forearms. After their first coupling, they had both fully undressed and had run and laughed in naked glory under the prairie sun. They had made love again in the soft grass, and after that second sweet union they had decided to find a place to camp. Finding all their clothes and running down the horses had been a wonderful game. They laughed at how a shirt lay here, a pair of pants there, here a stocking, there a gun belt. The two horses had been grazing so far apart that they had to whistle and call and walk a total of nearly a mile to get hold of them.

It was the happiest time Sunny could remember. Finally, she could voice the love she'd felt for so long, and now she knew Colt felt the same way for years. For now neither of them wanted to think about what might lie ahead. They enjoyed the moment, enjoyed the wonderful gift of being able to show their love. Sunny's body hurt with the sweet pain of being loved by the beautiful man who rode ahead of her, leading her horse. It gave her shivers to realize her handsome, sure, brave but gentle Colt had seen her naked, had tasted her breasts, had explored and claimed her most intimate parts, had plunged his glorious self deep in her belly and branded her his own. She had wanted him so fiercely that she let him take her with the utmost abandon. It seemed as natural as breathing, no hesitation, no embarrassment, no worry over whether it was wrong. Nothing could have felt more right. Ever since she was a girl of fifteen, she'd known this day was coming. It simply had to be. In spite of all her millions, this man of little wealth owned her now, heart and soul.

They reached the river, and Colt tied and unloaded the horses. Sunny helped him gather wood as the sky began to darken, and they spread out a blanket and built a fire. Colt dug into his supplies and took out some soap and towels, turning to watch her add a little wood to the fire. He was thinking how she looked like an ordinary woman, more beautiful than most, but plainer now, her hair tangled and undone, no makeup, her blouse only half tucked into her skirt. She wore no jewelry…except for that diamond ring. He felt a stab of pain at the sight of it still on her hand.

“I can't believe you're roughing it this way,” he teased. “You look like a common settler woman.”

She smiled that smile he loved. “I'm tougher than you think. I thought I proved that to you ten years ago. You're a hard one to convince, Colt Travis.” She held his eyes challengingly as she began removing her blouse. “I'm ready for that river bath.”

He came closer, putting the towels and soap on the blanket. “That river is pretty cold this time of year.”

She unlaced her camisole and opened it along with her blouse. “Not cold enough to take away the heat you bring out in me,” she answered, reaching up around his neck.

Colt grinned, meeting her mouth in another hungry kiss, wondering at this insatiable appetite he had for her. He had not felt this good with a woman since LeeAnn, and much as he had loved her, he had to admit that this feeling he had for Sunny was more intense, more demanding. He had never loved this way.

Sunny kissed his chest, enjoying the taste of him even though he had been sweating from their hard riding and their previous lovemaking. He had a stirring, manly scent about him. She looked down and began unlacing his pants, and she could see him swelling again with the want of her. She daringly knelt to pull off his buckskins, and she touched him gently.

Colt drew in his breath at the feel of her fingers. She kissed him, rubbed her cheek against him. “You're so beautiful, Colt,” she said softly. “I've wanted you for such a long time.” She kissed his flat, muscled belly, inching her way back up and kissing his neck. “I want to be better than any woman you've ever been with. Do I please you, Colt?”

He grasped her tangled hair, kissing the top of her head. “How could someone as beautiful and loving and willing as you not please a man?”

She looked up at him, and he found her mouth, keeping her face between his hands. She ran her hands over his powerful arms, reached around his neck. She reminded him of a little girl who couldn't get enough candy. When he left her mouth she kissed his neck again, her breathing heavy. “Do it all to me again, Colt,” she whispered. “What happened when you kissed me down there? I never imagined—”

He ran his hands under her blouse and camisole, caressing her bare back and crushing her breasts against his chest. “It's just a way to make it feel all that much better for a woman.”

“Do it to me again. I felt like I belonged totally to you. I want to feel like that again.”

He kissed her hair, her eyes. He removed her blouse and camisole, dropping them to the ground, then knelt to pull off her skirt. He helped her step out of her boots and stockings and underclothes, and Sunny marveled at how easy it was to let him see her naked. He kissed her belly, then reached over and grabbed the soap, surprising her when he scooped her up in his strong arms. “First my captive and I will bathe,” he said, running with her to the river.

Sunny screamed and laughed when Colt threw her into the cold water. He laughed with her, quickly grabbing her and dunking her under the water for a kiss before coming up for air. They splashed each other as they floated toward a rock, where he propped her up and began lathering her.

Sunny threw her head back and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of letting him bathe her, letting him wash every part of her. He pulled her from the rock and dunked her again, and she laughed and took the soap from him. “It's my turn,” she told him.

They moved closer to the edge of the river, where it was shallower, and Colt stood in water that came only to his knees. He watched her as she soaped him, her hair slicked back from her face. It reminded him of that night when he had supper with her and her father out in this very same country, when she had bathed and then come to the table. That was the night Bo Landers had warned him to stay away from his daughter. The memory brought back the fear that he did not want to face yet—that he should have done just that.

Sunny washed him gently, exploring, watching how that most intriguing part of him swelled when she slid her hand over it with the slippery soap. “Don't stop,” he told her, his voice gruff with ecstasy. Moments later his life spilled on her, and she was awed by this curious but wonderful thing between man and woman, this glorious way God had created for man and woman to consummate their love. Suddenly, she wanted babies—babies for Colt, a son to replace the one he had lost.

They went back into the river to wash and rinse off yet again. Colt threw the soap up onshore, and they swam for a while, playing like carefree children. He carried her out of the water and laid her on the blanket, handing her a towel. It was nearly dark now, and he added a little more wood to the fire before picking up another towel and drying himself off. He looked down at her lying there watching him, a towel pulled over her. He grinned, leaning over her and pulling the towel away. “I'll warm you up the way you asked me to,” he told her, meeting her mouth. He explored deeply with his tongue while he moved a big hand over her breasts, her belly, down to that part of her that belonged to him now.

She whimpered and returned his kisses wildly when he moved a finger deep inside of her suggestively. Sunny knew she would still feel pain, but this was Colt, her precious Colt and he loved her. He had a way of easing the pain, a way of touching her that made her want him in spite of it. She wondered at her own boldness, the way he had of making her ignore all modesty, lose all inhibitions. His lips moved down to again claim and explore her intimately. She gripped the blanket in her fists as his warm lips and gentle tongue again pulled at that secret part of her. She had not known her own body until now, was not aware of the magical, wonderful feelings a woman could experience. Could a man claim his woman more fully than this?

She felt the wonderful release pulse through her again, and quickly Colt moved back over her, pushed himself deep inside her. Her body needed him, and she had no control over that need, not when it was Colt who was touching her, Colt who was bringing to life all the buried passions.

Colt grasped her under the hips, glorying in her depths, rising up on his knees and lifting her to himself. He thought how in spite of her boldness, she was truly offering herself to him in sweet innocence, allowing him to teach her the joy of being a woman, trusting in his love. She was discovering something new and wonderful, and he loved her so. At last now there was something he could give her, a kind of freedom she had never known.

Their eyes met, and Sunny arched up to him in wild passion, thinking how he looked the conquering warrior. Yes, she truly was his captive now, and his touch was like a drug that made her lose all reserve. His hair hung over his bronze shoulders, and his muscles were hard from grasping her, his eyes on fire with his own ecstasy. She gloried in the fact that the pain was nearly gone now. He moved in ways that made her feel insane with the want of him, not just in deep thrusts, but in magical circles that brought such a thrill that she could hardly get her breath.

It was strange to think that this powerful man could break her in half if he chose to, yet he could be so gentle. He bore scars from fierce fighting; she had seen him kill men without a flinch. Yet here he was, mating with her. To her he was simply sweet, loving, gentle Colt, who was not just her friend but her lover.

His life spilled into her, and he slowly relaxed. He reached over and took hold of another blanket, lay down beside her then and covered them. They were still for several minutes, saying nothing. She settled against his shoulder, and Colt petted her hair. “You hungry?” he finally asked.

“A little.”

He kissed her hair. “We have to talk, Sunny.”

She rubbed his chest, and he noticed the diamond again. She closed her eyes. “I know. Let's wash and eat first. We have all night to talk.”

He took her hand and kissed her palm, then turned the hand to look first at the ring, then into her eyes.

“Take it off,” she told him.

He frowned. “Sunny—”

“Take it off. I'm not marrying Blaine.”

He felt an odd heaviness of impending disaster as he removed the ring. She took it from him and rose, walking over to put it in her saddlebags. Colt watched her, thinking how firm and beautiful her bottom was. How could a man get enough of a woman like Sunny? How could he not love someone so sweet? He felt a fierce jealousy at the thought that Blaine might have married her and been first to take her, and he was glad it hadn't happened that way. He knew what she was doing was not easy for her, nor would it be easy for her to tell Blaine she was not marrying him.

Still, even with Blaine gone, could they really be together? He reminded himself who she was. That beautiful naked woman walking back to him was Sunny Landers, queen of the Union Pacific, the richest single woman in Chicago, maybe in the country. What the hell was he doing lying here with her along the Platte River, claiming her for his own?

“Let's go wash again,” she told him. He saw the tears in her eyes. “Then we'll eat.”

He got up and followed her to the river.

***

Colt rolled himself a cigarette and took a stick from the fire to light it. He threw back the stick and took a deep drag, feeling pleasantly full from the fresh bread and turkey meat Sunny had brought with her. He picked up a tin cup filled with coffee and watched her repack some of the food and their plates. She had slipped on a simple cotton sleeping gown, and on her it looked elegant. Colt decided she was the type of woman who could look good in a potato sack.

He sat wearing only his long johns. It was one of the warmest nights so far this spring, made more pleasant by the fact that this time of year there were still no mosquitoes. Sunny leaned over the fire and poured herself some coffee, and he thought how pretty she looked in the firelight, while Sunny in turn was thinking how wonderfully handsome and dangerous and seductive he looked, his bronze skin glowing by the soft light of the flames. She sat down beside him and sighed deeply. “I've wanted this moment to come ever since I said good-bye to you at Fort Laramie,” she told him. “So many times in my dreams, I—” She looked at him. “Did you dream about being with me sometimes?”

He met her gaze, the cigarette still in his mouth. “What do you think?”

She smiled softly. “I think you wanted me that night at Fort Laramie.”

He gave her a teasing grin. “You were just a kid.”

“I was old enough, especially in the eyes of someone like you who has lived among Indians and such. I've always heard Indian women marry quite young.”

“Some do.” The air hung silent for a moment. “You saying
we're
going to marry?”

She sipped some of her coffee. “It's not for me to say.”

He smoked quietly for a moment. “Sunny, it isn't a matter of whether or not I want to marry you. You know damn well I'd love you to be my wife, to be a mother to my children. But you also know the problems we face, the reasons we both fought this for so long. I could never be a Blaine O'Brien or anything like your father or—”

“I would never want that. What I love about you is that you are what you are, no pretense, no concern for outspending the next man, no fancy notions. Surely we can find some kind of compromise, Colt.”

He leaned back on one elbow. “Well, we sure as hell know we can't go through life trying to stay away from each other.” He took the cigarette from his mouth and blew out smoke in a deep sigh. “All right, let's weigh the facts here. I could never go back to Omaha with you and start wearing fancy suits and going to board meetings and such—and if I left all that business part of it to you, what would I do there? I'd go crazy trying to make myself useful. And I sure as hell wouldn't want to just sit around living the high life, making Vince and everybody else believe I married you so I could lie around and live off your money, which we both know is exactly what they're going to think.