Silken Savage (35 page)

“Anyone care to guess who that might be?” Melissa quipped.

Tanya made a face. “Jeffrey” she groaned. “Oh, dear!”

“Just answer the door, Julie,” Edward instructed. “We may as well get this over with.”

To Adam he said, “Has Tanya told you about Jeffrey Young?”

Adam smiled wryly. “Her ex-fiancé? Yes.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to walk into this blindly. He’s bound to take offense if he thinks you have any interest in Tanya.”

“Which I do,” Adam answered forthrightly.

Julie led Jeffrey into the dining room. “Look who’s come to visit,” she announced unnecessarily, steering Jeffrey to the chair next to hers, directly across the table from Tanya and Adam. “I’ll get another place setting.”

Jeffrey glared at Adam, seated next to Tanya. “I didn’t realize you had company. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Adam Savage; Jeffrey Young,” Edward said shortly, without elaborating.

“How like you not to let us know you were coming before blessing us with your presence,” Tanya stated tartly.

“I always come on Sundays,” Jeffrey returned defensively.

“We’ve tried not to notice, Lieutenant,” Melissa inserted.

Jeffrey ignored this, thanking Julie as she placed his plate before him. “What brings you to Pueblo, Mr. Savage?” he asked authoritatively.

Adam’s lips quirked suspiciously as he hid a grin. “I live here.”

Jeffrey frowned. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“I didn’t realize census-taking was part of your duties with the Army,” George noted dryly.

Jeffrey shot him a quelling look. “It was merely an observation, Mr. Martin. I simply said I’d never noticed Mr. Savage around town.”

“Not surprising, since he just returned from an extensive journey in Europe,” Julie soothed.

Stretching the truth just a bit, Melissa added, “He’s spent the last couple of years with his father’s people.”

Adam, Tanya and Melissa exchanged a quick look of shared conspiracy.

“Surely you are aware of the Savage ranch, Jeffrey,” Sarah enlightened him. “Rachel Savage is quite often in town. Adam is her son.”

“I see.” Jeffrey took a moment to absorb this information.

Tanya deliberately leaned toward Adam, lightly brushing her breast against his arm, sure that Jeffrey had noted the gesture. “Pass the biscuits, would you please, Adam?” she asked sweetly.

“With pleasure,” he smiled.

Hunter chose this moment to demand his dinner, noisily banging his spoon on the tray of his highchair.

Jeffrey glared at him irritably. “Why don’t you feed the child before the rest of us are seated, Tanya? He’s such a nuisance at the table.”

“Cheyenne children are always fed with their mothers,” Tanya responded sharply, “after their fathers have eaten.”

As she reached for Hunter, Adam ordered quietly, but firmly, “Give him to me, Tanya, and finish your meal.”

To everyone’s surprise but Melissa’s, Tanya obeyed without hesitation, transferring Hunter to Adam’s lap.

As Tanya resumed eating, Adam proceeded to feed Hunter from his own plate.

“It amazes me to see how comfortable you are around young children, Mr. Savage,” Sarah commented in the lull.

“My people adore children,” Adam answered, unperturbed by Jeffrey’s sour glare.

“Yet you are an only child,” Elizabeth commented. “How sad for your mother. I’m surprised she never remarried. She must have loved your father dearly.”

Adam agreed. “With all her heart.”

“How admirable,” Jeffrey sneered. “There are so many others, such as my sweet Tanya here, who can be so fickle at times.” His blue eyes fixed on Tanya. “But that will soon end, will it not, Tanya darling?”

“I wouldn’t count on it where you are concerned, Jeffrey. Don’t place any wagers along those lines, or you’ll lose your bootlaces.” Tanya bestowed a falsely sweet smile on him.

Adam managed to look convincingly confused. “Have I missed something here?”

Jeffrey ignored him, concentrating on Tanya. “Once we’re married, you’ll change your tune, my sweet.”

“If that day should ever come, God forbid, I’d expect to hear a funeral dirge in place of wedding bells!”

Edward’s voice cut off any comment Jeffrey might have made. “Enough of this bickering! We are trying to enjoy our meal. Sunday is supposed to be a day of peace — though it rarely is around here,” he sighed.

Later, having coffee in the parlor, Jeffrey was angered to find himself again outmaneuvered as Adam seated himself next to Tanya on the small sofa.

A short time later, Kit came bounding down the stairs and into the parlor. She stopped once to snarl at Jeffrey, then approached Tanya, gently nudging her leg with her head, and pawing at her arm.

Tanya laughed. “All right, Kit! I’m coming.”

To Adam, she explained, “This is her way of telling me that Mark is awake upstairs and needs my attention. If you’ll excuse me for a little while, I shall go tend to him.”

Jeffrey stood impatiently. “Tanya, I want to speak with you.”

On her way out of the room, Tanya swirled to face him. “I hardly think now would be appropriate, Jeffrey. I must feed Mark.” Her tone was icy.

Jeffrey’s lips thinned in his frustration. “The child is six months old, Tanya. If you’d listen to my advice and put him on a bottle, anyone could perform that chore. You’d be less tied down and have more time for yourself.”

Tanya glared at him, her golden eyes flashing. “If your concern were not so self-centered, I’d be touched,” she stated acidly.

Turning her attention to Adam, she smiled sweetly. “If you will excuse me, I’ll tend to my son.”

“I’ll wait here for you and we can take a walk when you return,” Adam suggested.

Julie grimaced. “Does that mean I have to go along as chaperone?”

“Not at all.” Tanya tossed her tawny head. “You can stay and keep Lieutenant Young company. I’m sure Melissa will agree to accompany us if a chaperone is required.” With that, she turned and left the room.

Jeffrey caught her in the hall as she returned downstairs. Grabbing her roughly by the arm, he faced her angrily. “I forbid you to go with that man, Tanya!”

Her eyes flashed a warning he ignored. “You are not in a position to order me about, Lieutenant. You are neither my father, nor my husband. Now, let go of my arm, if you please.”

“I am your fiancé,” he persisted.

“Ex-fiancé,” Tanya stressed, hissing the words at him. “Ex, as in past, passe, finished, done with, gone. I don’t want you, I don’t need you, and I’m heartily sick of you!”

Jeffrey’s grip tightened painfully on her arm. “You’re mine, Tanya!” he bellowed. “I won’t let an Indian husband stand in my way, and I’ll be damned if I’ll step aside for the likes of Adam Savage!”

Tanya’s furious look matched his. “You’ll undoubtedly be damned any way you care to view it, Jeffrey, but I’ll rule my own life, thank you, and you have no part in my plans for my future. Now kindly take your hand from my arm.”

“I’d strongly advise you to do as the lady requests, Lieutenant.”

Jeffrey’s head swivelled to find Adam lounging indolently in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. As relaxed as he seemed, Tanya could sense Adam’s fury, muscles tensed to spring at any moment.

Kit stood at his side, ready to attack if given the order.

Cursing beneath his breath, Jeffrey released Tanya's arm.

Adam commanded, “Come here, Tanya.”

Immediately she crossed to stand in the shelter of his embrace, as his arm encircled her shoulder. “You see, Young,” Adam pointed out deliberately, “the lady is with me.” His dark eyes dared Jeffrey to make a move.

With a muttered oath, Jeffrey slammed out of the house, banging the door heavily behind him.

“I could have handled him,” Tanya murmured softly into Adam’s shirt.

“You shouldn’t have to,” he replied evenly. “You are mine to protect, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing so just now. I have a few scores to settle with Lieutenant Young, but the time is not right just yet. Someday, someday.”

Julie, thoroughly upset by Jeffrey’s abrupt departure, took refuge in her room. That left only Melissa to accompany Adam and Tanya on their walk.

“Melissa, you won’t be hurt if we ask you to disappear for a while, will you?” Adam asked once they were on their way. “Take Kit for a walk, pick some flowers, talk to the birds; just don’t come back for at least half an hour.”

“Or longer,” Tanya added, her eyes twinkling merrily.

Melissa pretended to be insulted. “Well!” she huffed, pointing her small nose to the sky. “I can tell when I’m not wanted. You don’t have to knock me over the head with a brick to get a point across.”

“Which is more than I can say for some people, mainly one Lieutenant Jeffrey Young,” Tanya grumbled testily.

“Shall I stand guard?” Melissa offered with a grin.

“Somehow I don’t think you’ll want surprise guests breaking in on your —
activities.”

Adam laughed. “For someone as timid as you are sometimes, Melissa, you can be very astute. Just give a whistle if someone comes along. We won’t be far.”

Melissa blushed and giggled. “I think you should know that I never could learn to whistle,” she confessed.

Tanya rolled her eyes heavenward. “Then just send Kit to alert us. We wouldn’t want to offend your sensibilities.”

Tanya stretched her nude body full length on the moist grass, watching as Adam removed his clothes. The sunlight dappling through new leaves shone on her skin, and her golden eyes glowed with expectation.

“Hurry, Panther,” she pleaded, holding out her arms to him. “I need you so much!”

He came into her arms, wrapping himself about her. “You must remember to call me Adam, my love, at least for a while,” he reminded as his lips found the soft skin of her neck.

“Mmmm,” her answer was lost as his touch carried her into a world of sensual pleasure. Time became meaningless as they teased and tempted one another with heated caresses. Her hands clutched at the muscles of his shoulders, his back, his thighs, as he led her along the paths of love. His lips did not miss one square inch of her feverish body as he rediscovered her delight.

“Love me, my darling. Love me,” she whimpered, her desires flaring beyond all limits.

“Be patient, my greedy kitten,” he murmured with a soft chuckle. He guided her hands and lips to aching areas of is own body, and she gladly gave back all the pleasures he bestowed upon her.

Finally, both of them ablaze with desire, he plunged into her, silencing her cries of delight with his lips. Every nerve responding in unison with his, she met him move for move, following as he led her ever higher on the spiraling staircase of ecstasy. Unconsciously she scored his back with her fingernails as her passions shattered in a violent cataclysm that triggered his own devastating explosion of rapture.

Replete, she lay serenely snuggled in his arms. “I could search the world over and never find another love such as ours,” she purred, her head pillowed on his chest. “I was lost without you, Panther.”

“Adam,” he corrected gently, then answered her thoughts. “That is because we are only whole when we are together. Our souls are united for all eternity, and our love will live long past the time when our bodies turn to dust.”

THE ENTIRE next week, everywhere Tanya went, Adam was sure to turn up. When she went to tea at someone’s home, if Adam could find a legitimate excuse for dropping in at the same time, he did so. If not, he invariably showed up in time to escort her home.

She and Julie spent part of one day helping George inventory his stock of ladies’ apparel at the mercantile, and Adam came in, decided he had nothing better to do, and spent the afternoon helping them. Not that he was all that much help, but they had a few hilarious hours watching him sort through everything from bonnets to ladies’ undergarments.

Tanya saw another side of Panther that she’d barely glimpsed before. He had a fantastic sense of humor that often reduced her to helpless giggles. He had a remarkable head for business, displaying a sharp intelligence that rivalled that of any Eastern lawyer or businessman Tanya had ever met. Also, he displayed a disturbing knowledge of women and what they liked, and enough charm to lure bees away from honey.

One day he caught up with Tanya and her mother just as they’d started shopping. For hours he patiently escorted them from store to store, waiting as they tried on bonnets, dresses and shoes. He offered sound advice on colors and fabrics, gallantly volunteered to carry their purchases, and treated them to tea in a small restaurant when they were done. By the end of the day, Sarah was completely won over. To her he seemed a saint and Sir Galahad rolled into one, and she told Tanya point-blank that she’d be a fool to turn him down if he offered marriage.

Twice that week Tanya invited Adam to the house for dinner. It warmed her heart to see him playing with Hunter and Mark. Though Mark was only an infant, he responded to Adam with instant rapport. Whenever Adam would pick him up, he’d laugh and coo, his black eyes sparkling. It was Adam who discovered Mark’s first tooth breaking through. His gentleness and affection for the children drew the approval of the entire family.

It was blatantly obvious to all that Adam was courting Tanya. He made no secret of it, taking every opportunity to hold her hand or put his arm about her in front of the others. He complimented her extravagantly, made her laugh more than she had in months, and centered his attention solely on her. He was courteous, gallant, thoughtful, and for the most part, respectful.

He presented her with flowers, and made her blush when he told her she outshone them. He brought her chocolates, brushing off her hesitancy by telling her he’d missed being here at Easter to give them to her.

Though she yearned to speed the courtship along, Tanya knew that to appear too eager would make people wonder. After months of professing her undying love for her Cheyenne husband, she had to go slowly at first.

For Adam’s part, he deliberately held things at an even pace, proceeding with what he was sure was acceptable behavior. He did not want to offend Tanya’s parents and upset all his and Tanya’s plans. Still, every few days he would arrange to meet with Tanya privately, mostly with Melissa’s aid.