Captive Eden (5 page)

His brisk strides brought him to her quickly. She struggled
to remain tense to keep the trembling inside to a minimum. When she thought she
was losing ground with her show of bravery, she found a reprieve from Brant’s
penetrating stare.

He bent down and snatched the chemise from the ground near
her.

She watched him go down the bank to the river. He rubbed his
hands in the water and then threw water against himself, rubbing it over his
body. When he splashed it between his legs, he noticeably shivered.

A laugh escaped her as she remembered the story about him
catching the fish.

Brant shot her an angry look, showing he wasn’t amused.

As she scrambled to her feet, she tried to figure out a way
to fasten her blouse. Not seeing a way, she knew she needed the chemise back
and looked to Brant. He marched toward her. The white chemise hung soaking wet
from his hand.

“I needed to wear that.”

He knelt before her and slapped the wet cloth between her
legs.

“Brant!” she squealed as the icy coldness hit her hot sex
and chafed thighs.

He held her by the ankle and wiped the cloth up and down her
legs and sex, washing her of his semen. Then he rose up before her.

He retrieved his leather shirt and her skirt and handed them
to her. As she put them on, she watched him slide his legs into his britches
and his feet into his footwear.

“I have things to take care of.” He looked up from tying his
moccasins. “You will go to the lodge now and remember our arrangement.”

“What arrangement?” she asked, fastening her skirt.

“The one in which you agreed to do as I say if I let you
come with the boy.”

Although Brant’s commands prompted defiance from her, she
looked forward to him coming to her. She had no fear of his empty threat now
that she had experienced his passion again.

“I’ve traveled many days on a train and a stagecoach, then
in a wagon to my house and on horse to your village. I’d like to bathe.”

“Come with me.” He grabbed her hand.

When she didn’t move to go with him, he glanced back.

“What is wrong?” He rubbed circles with his thumb gently
over her knuckles.

“Nothing.” She smiled, happiness swelling inside.

“Then come.” He led her through the pasture of tall grass
and wildflowers. “Do you remember the pond where we used to go swimming?”

“It’s unlikely I’d forget where I met you.”

She thought of that first kiss between them. They had been
friends for four years. Going to the swimming hole on her father’s ranch by the
apple grove was nothing new. Then one day he held her face in the palms of
hands and asked if he could kiss her. Already in love with him, she didn’t
hesitate to give permission.

“There is a place similar not too far from here. We will go
get you something more suitable to wear and I will take you and Charlie there.”

“Can I go alone?”

“No.” He jerked her toward him. “I will never give you an
opportunity to run away with my son.”

She cringed at his angry tone.

Give him sympathy and comfort.
If their roles were
reversed and she had been robbed of knowing her child, she’d be just as insane
from grief as well as fear the worst.

“I didn’t mean with Charlie. I meant by myself. I told you I
won’t leave, Brant.”

He looked away as if the decision to trust her was a hard
one. Yet he still rubbed her arm as a form of apology.

Eden opened his hand and rubbed her finger over the spot he
cut for her. She held her palm up, kissed the place she had once cut her skin
for him and pressed her hand in his. They had made many promises and pledges
sealed by their blood. She hoped he’d understand the symbolism now.

“I will take Charlie out in the canoe.” He twisted his hand
and folded his fingers between hers without commenting on the silent oath she
made.

“I worry about him falling in the water.” She placed a hand
on his arm. “Please watch him carefully.”

“We will come to the pond in two hours.” His eyes danced
with a delight that she felt down to her toes. “You will find a dress for you
in the box in my lodge.”

They walked back to the camp in silence. No longer holding
hands but no longer using words to keep their emotions charged either. Every
time his gaze turned her way, he caused her insides to wrench from shame. Brant
was never a quiet man with his feelings. She wished he would share more than
the anger with her. Yet she understood how his fear of losing Charlie and maybe
her kept him quiet. She hoped over time he’d come to trust her again.

“He doesn’t appear to have problems fitting in,” she
commented, seeing Charlie and Sully wrestling and laughing.

“Charlie.” Brant called him over. “You and I are going to
the river while your mother bathes in a nearby pond.”

“Aren’t you going to be cold, Mama? You said it was too cold
when I asked about going swimming back home.”

“That was Boston, in the spring, Charlie. The weather is
different now that it’s summer. Though, I’m sure my memory is a bit hazy as to
the water temperature.” She thought of how icy wet the chemise felt touching
her skin.

“Come.” Brant gave a jerk of his head indicating Charlie
should follow and then to Eden he said as he pointed, “Follow that path to the
pond.”

“Can Sully go with us in the canoe?” Charlie asked.

“He has chores,” Brant answered.

Surprisingly, Charlie accepted the denial instead of arguing
and insisting as Eden had seen him do on many occasions to get his own way. As
father and son walked off, the smile dropped from Eden’s mouth. Brant’s manners
were not as smooth or refined as they once were and it made her nervous. While
she prayed Brant didn’t say anything to upset Charlie, she also worried how
Brant might react should Charlie try to exert his independence by refusing to
follow any of Brant’s instructions.

She took a deep breath when they were out of sight. It was
hard to let her son go off and yet, in her heart she trusted Brant to know how
to handle a little boy.

In the lodge, Eden went to the box Brant mentioned. The size
of a large trunk, it appeared heavy. She tipped up the lid and leaned it
against the wall. Like a treasure chest, it appeared to contain his prized
possessions. She lifted out a canvas bundle and beneath saw an assortment of
what appeared to be mementos from their past. Her favorite book, a hair ribbon and
a handkerchief she had used to bandage his cut finger when they were twelve.
The deeper she looked into the trunk, she found other items that belonged to
her, things that she left behind when she went to Boston.

Tears dripped to her cheeks as she unwrapped the bundle in
her lap. She picked up a soft doeskin dress and a pair of moccasins. The beaded
detail around the neck of the garment was beautiful. She had always wanted a
Pawnee dress but with a father who hated Indians, she didn’t dare bring
anything home when Brant said he’d get her whatever she wanted.

Overwhelmed by her find, she held the dress to her face and
cried. Brant had suffered heartache for five years and it was her fault.

Brant jumped in the canoe as he pushed off from the muddy
shore.

“It’s too bad Sully had chores to do.” Charlie looked over
his shoulder at him. “Will you make me do chores too?”

“You will do your share.” Brant felt awkward with the boy.

“Mama always made me do chores at home. She’s strict that
way. Sometimes I don’t think she likes me to have fun.” He dipped his hand in
the water and splashed it.

“Maybe she has forgotten what it was like to be young and
enjoy life.”

“I think she’s too sad to think about fun stuff.”

“Why would she be sad? Did someone do something to her?”
Brant asked, wondering just how much a four year old could understand about
such things.

He hated that he was never able to stop Eden’s father from
hurting her. Whenever she had a bruise or a cut on her face, which was too
often, she always had a ready story explaining it as clumsiness. When she
confessed her father hit her, he swore he’d kill the man. She convinced him it
would be wrong and that she didn’t want her father dead.

“She said it was because she missed someone very much,”
Charlie answered.

“Her father?” Brant didn’t want to believe it was possible.

“I don’t know. But I heard her tell Uncles Charles her
father wasn’t the kind of person anybody missed. I don’t think she liked him.”
Charlie jumped up and pointed to shore. “Look, is that a bear?”

“Sit down!” Brant yelled.

Startled, Charlie toppled over the side of the canoe into
the river. Brant tried to reach for him but the current moved swift and
erratic. Charlie bobbed to the surface.

“Do not fight the water, Charlie, dig deep just as if you
were a dog.” He paddled harder until he had the boat alongside the boy.
Snatching him up by the collar of his shirt, he dragged Charlie out of the
river.

Charlie flopped over on Brant’s lap, choking. Steering the
boat to the bank, Brant carried him to dry ground.

“Cough it up, boy.” He held him over his forearm and rubbed
his back. “Enough?”

Charlie nodded and Brant lifted him.

“I’m sorry, sir. I forgot—” He coughed. “I forgot you told
me not to stand up in the boat.”

Brant pulled him forward and hugged him tight. “You will
learn.”

“Please don’t tell Mama, sir. She won’t let me go again.”

Brant held Charlie at arm’s length. His first impulse was to
tell his son his mother didn’t make the rules.

“We will not be able to keep this from her but I will take
all the blame.”

“I never do anything right.”

“Just being here is right, Charlie.” He hugged him again. “Just
being my son makes everything you do right.”

“Sir?”

“You do not have to call me sir all the time either.” He
rose up and took Charlie’s hand. “My name is Brant.”

The village wasn’t far and they talked as they walked.

“We’re named almost the same,” Charlie commented. “When
mama’s angry, she calls me all my names. Charles Brant Sullette. Then I know I’m
in big trouble.”

Brant put an arm around Charlie’s shoulders, elated to learn
that Eden had given their son his name. “I know what you mean. Your mother and
I knew each other a long time ago and I got my fair share of her temper too.”

“That means she likes you.”

“Does it?”

“She says it’s not worth the energy to yell at someone of no
cons…quence.”

“Consequence,” Brant corrected, ruffling the boy’s wet hair.
“I reckon you will be the one to get yelled at, then. You are very important to
her.”

“Hey, you said you’d take the blame.”

Brant laughed and felt a quick and irreversible bonding with
his son.

“Won’t you feel funny if I don’t call you father or papa?”

“I would like whatever you decide.” He squeezed Charlie’s
shoulders. “Now I promised your mother I would bring you to the pond. I think
earlier than she expected would be best.”

“Do I have to?” He kicked his foot in the sand. “Sully
wanted to show me his knifes.”

“You like knives?”

“I don’t know but it sounds neat. He said you got him all
kinds and sizes.”

“A good knife is an invaluable tool to an Indian. We hunt
with them. Defend ourselves with them and—” Brant stopped before saying kill
with them. He had a strong urge to shield Charlie from anything harsh about the
world. He’d been wrong to give Eden the impression he didn’t think she’d raised
Charlie right.

“Shave,” Charlie added. “Sully says I should watch you shave
with yours.”

Brant rubbed his jaw. He had shaved the day before in
preparation of meeting Eden—another one of his attempts to impress her.

“Maybe tomorrow.” He put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder.

“Swell.”

“All right then, go to your grandmother for clothes and then
you can go see my brother’s knives. Be careful, they are not for play.”

“I promise. I’ll just look at them.”

Brant nodded and waved him to go. He watched Charlie run
through the camp and dodge around everything in his way.

Putting a hand to the back of his head, Brant rubbed the
tension knotted by the scare he had of Charlie nearly drowning. Nothing ever
rattled him the way Charlie had when he fell in the river.

Brant walked to the pond. The sight of Eden beautifully
naked in the water stopped him just shy of making his presence known. The
lovely shape of her had always mesmerized him. She made him love her with his
soul.

The emotions Brant thought Eden destroyed had resurfaced. He
clenched his hands, angry that he feared she’d hurt him again.

* * * * *

Eden lifted her head when she heard the crunch of gravel.

“Brant Sullette!” She squatted back down in the water. “How
dare you stand there watching me without…What are you doing?”

She put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun to get a
better look at Brant shucking off his clothes. Beauty had a form and it walked
toward her. The sight of Brant’s lean, hard body stirred desire deeper into the
pit of her belly. He waded into the water and stopped within inches of her. The
surface of the pond came to his waist. She stared at his abdomen grooved with
muscle.

“I want you, Eden.” His touch glided along her shoulder.

She shook her head. “I haven’t rested. You said I needed
rest.”

“You look refreshed.” He moved his hand beneath her elbow
and guided her up.

Rising from the concealment of water, she exposed herself to
his gaze.

His large frame seemed to envelop her as he pulled her to
him. His face neared and his lips swept across hers. She shivered from both the
cold of the water and the intimacy of their embrace. When his mouth pressed
against hers again, she parted her lips and allowed his tongue to enter.

She whimpered at the touches he placed on her back and over
her bottom. The work-roughened palms stimulated her flesh with the kind of heat
she craved.

“I want you,” he said it again as if she had forgotten his
statement.

Eden hung on to him, giving her silent approval.

His kisses became more passionate and their bodies fit together
tighter as if they’d never get close enough. He slid his hands over her
shoulders, down her back and cupped her bottom, squeezing and massaging her
right into the hardness nudging her belly. With a firm grip on her thighs, he
hoisted her up to his waist and she locked her legs around him.

“Charlie told me you said you were sad because you missed
someone very much,” he spoke close to her ear. “Who was it?”

“Do you really need to ask?”

He kissed her cheek, her temple and her forehead.

“I missed you,” he whispered in her ear so low she almost
didn’t hear him.

“Oh, Brant.” She cried and hugged him, afraid in the next
moment she’d wake from the perfect dream.

“My Eden,” he murmured, crushing her in his arms.

To understand her religion, Brant often had her read to him
from her Bible. He loved hearing the book of Genesis. She thought it was
because it sounded as if Eve was under Adam’s rule much the way the Indian
squaws were under the rule of Indian braves. But she later learned it was
because of the paradise where the lovers lived. As she was named Eden, Brant claimed
she was his Eden because there was no better place he’d rather be than in her
arms.

His kisses dried her tears and the enchantment washed away
years of loneliness. He carried her to a patch of grass and eased her to the
ground. The angry man who had wanted to take her son away had finally transformed
into the caring one who had always treated her with tenderness and love.

For a time, they remained quiet, kissing and caressing. She
moved her head, twisting to give him the access of her neck. His firm lips
sucked and kissed against her pulse. He nibbled on her earlobe, and without
missing an inch of skin, he kissed his way to the other side of her neck.

His kisses ventured to her breasts. Moving lower, his long
black hair tickled her belly. A laugh erupted from her and for the first time,
he looked at her with a genuine smile.

When it faded, his solemn expression worried her.

“I am sorry I frightened you at the ranch. I was angry with
you,” he said.

“You had every right to be.” She stroked a hand over the
back of his head.

“If you had come back after Charlie was born, I would never
have let you stay with your father.” He pressed kisses lower, making her squirm
anxiously.

“I didn’t know that. I believed you didn’t want me anymore.”

He lifted his head and stared at her. “I have wanted nothing
more than you.”

The conversation ended and she lost sight of his face when
he lowered. When the lightning-quick sensations made her squirm against the
flicker of his tongue, Brant pressed his hands against the insides of her
thighs, offering the restraint she needed. The aggressive moves of his mouth over
her sex drove her mind further from thoughts of him and to the ardent pleasure.
Clenching on the thrusts of his tongue, she rode the wave of exhilaration.

Before the climax, he rose over her, halting the fiery
stimulation.

She pushed him back. Rising to pull her legs under herself,
she got on her knees. She brushed his black hair back from his face and leaned
in, kissing him. He sat still as she kissed his neck and shoulders and then his
chest.

She scooted back, going lower, dragging her tongue down the
center of his abdomen. He leaned back and propped himself on his arms.
Fascinated and wanting to savor every aspect of his body, she leaned over and
ran her tongue along the side of his erection. Brant let out a low rumble of a
groan.

She took him into her mouth, enjoying his pleased sounds.
Then Brant leaned toward her and pushed her back to the ground.

“You can practice fondling me another time,” he said
hoarsely, positioning between her legs.

While he seemed rushed, breathing heavy, he eased down and
nudged her dampened opening with his stiff maleness.

She clutched his sides and stared into his love-filled eyes.

He didn’t say anything more, prodding her sex and then
penetrating her swiftly. He held still as if to let her grow accustomed to the
way he filled her.

Eden waited for him to move. Her chest heaved and Brant’s
gaze remained locked to hers. She pulled her bottom lip inward, worried the
whimpering sounds she couldn’t control would make him lift off her.

His motions started slow. Gently drawing his hips back and shoving
them forward, he moved in and out with a rhythm she eagerly followed.

Brant’s whispers were sounds of affection, not words and it
didn’t matter how he expressed his adoration as long as she felt it.

She relaxed under him, reacquainting herself with the
emotions she held in check. Crying out his name as one orgasm after another brought
her the ecstasy of love.

She clung to his powerful shoulders.

In a lull, she raked her nails over the hard cheeks of his
ass. “You’re more beautiful than I remember too.” She pulled at him.

His thrusts gained speed and she bucked with the eager
thrill of finally feeling like
his
woman again.

Eden moaned as the sensations he created spiraled through
her. His whispers turned to grunts and hers into pleas.

“Don’t let me go, Brant. Don’t ever let me go.”

“Never, my Eden.”

Her body climaxed and peaked when he jolted against her.
Liquid warmth filled her.

“Will you take me as your husband?” His question surprised
her.

Choked by overwhelming emotions, she strained to make words
come out. “Yes, I’ll have you as my husband,” she answered, renewing her vows.

“I want more children.”

“With you coming to me many times in a day, I foresee us
having a very large family.” She hugged him.

Brant kept his head down on her shoulder. “Eden, I…” His
body shook and he made a strange, strangled sound.

“Shhh…” she hummed, understanding the intense feeling of
completeness.

When he lifted his head, she caught just a glimpse of the
tears floating in his brown eyes. His love was as real as hers. His mouth
sought hers and in the fervor, he expressed to her a fierce possessiveness she
embraced with her heart.

“Mama?” Charlie’s voice broke the spell.

Eden pushed Brant to get up. When he did, she scooted out
from under him and hurried into the pond. Shivering until it felt as if her
skin would fall off she stared at Brant watching her.

“Put your pants on,” she demanded. She would have liked it
better if she had her clothes on but as long as Brant wasn’t standing there
naked, Charlie wouldn’t be too shocked.

“Mama,” Charlie shouted again.

“Over here,” she answered.

Charlie rushed into the clearing.

“Brant, why is he alone? It’s not safe for him to come this
far by himself.”