Comanche Haven (The Loflin Legacy: Book 1) (18 page)

Dark hair and cool green eyes appeared
in his mind’s eye. Ty and he had traveled hard to make it back by
sunset. He hadn’t wanted to leave Celia alone any longer than was
absolutely necessary. Jake’s report had him wishing he’d sent the
foreman to Tyler in his stead.

While the bath and whiskey did their
job, Seth had time to consider what Jake had told him. Celia had
slipped out and gone to meet Red Bear. It didn’t set well. But the
fact she’d gone alone and told no one was more disturbing. Right
now, he was in no mood for deceit under his own roof.

The knock at the door startled him.
Seth sloshed water as he sat upright in the tub. “Who is
it?”

“
It’s me, Celia… ma...may I
come in?”

“
Wait a minute,” he snapped,
more harshly than he’d intended. It took a moment of stretching at
the low-slung table just out of arms reach, but Seth managed to
retrieve and strategically place a towel over the tub for her
sensibilities. “Come on in. It’s open.”

“
I didn’t get a chance to
speak to you when you arrived,” Celia said as she slipped into the
room. Her polite but prim demeanor faltered when she spotted him in
the hipbath. “Oh! Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were bathing.
I’ll come back later.”

She wheeled and her hand was already on
the doorknob when Seth called out to her, “No, wait. It’s okay. I’m
covered.” His wry smile topped off the smoothing of the cloth over
the big brass tub.

Slowly, Celia turned.

He had to chuckle to himself. It was
admirable she didn’t turn scarlet or wave away the vapors or some
such nonsense at the sight of a half-naked man. He reminded himself
of others who would do just that, when presented with a bit of male
anatomy. Satisfaction surfaced. Probably seen all there was to see
in the surgery theater, Seth mused. With a waving of his wrist, he
motioned her in as his smile became wicked. “Come on in and keep me
company. I might even get you to scrub my back later.” He took a
deep swallow of the whiskey before setting his glass on the stand
beside the tub. The dark liquor burned all the way down and still
didn’t numb the feeling of need growing in him. He watched her out
of eyes gone to slits. For the life of him, he couldn’t seem to
curb the irritated bend to his mood.

Cutter got up from his post near the
hammered brass tub, and wagging his tail, before sashaying over to
greet Celia as she neared the bed.

Traitor
, Seth mused as the dog thumped his tail with affection for
the room’s newest member.

Lighting on the bench at the foot of
his bed like a butterfly, Celia relaxed fractionally and let out an
exaggerated breath when she noticed the hint of mischief in his
expression. “I never know how to take you.” Trying to get her
bearings back, she reached out and rubbed the cow dog behind the
ears. “I wanted to ask if you’d heard anything about the… the…
about my father’s murder while you were in town?” She finished in a
rush. “You went to the sheriff, right?”

Nodding, Seth cupped water in both of
his big hands and splashed it into his face. He was in no hurry to
respond as he wiped the back of his hand across his face and then
shook his head like a dog sending droplets of water in all
directions. “I went to alert Sheriff Cole and Major Chance at the
Fort like I said I would.” Seth reached for the bar of soap and
began to scrub. “We checked the tracks leading away from Lone
Eagle’s campsite. They headed north into Oklahoma territory. We
lost them not to far from the boundary to the reservation.” He
shook his head. The ponies still carried Army issue shoes. The
riders are either U.S. Army or somebody with balls of steel. They
left a lot of signs and discriminating evidence. I’m thinking they
did it on purpose. Whoever is responsible wants it to look like the
army did it.”

His gaze met and held hers for minute.
“I spoke to Jake earlier.” He waited a beat. “How did you like your
ride?” Watching her closely, Seth waited.

Celia looked away, “Fine.” She worked
her hands in her lap. The knuckles she gripped turned white under
the pressure. “Your place is so big. I still have trouble with how
vast it is.”

Seth watched as Celia placed her hand
on her stomach and rubbed.

“
We spent most of the day
seeing a great deal of your place. It’s beautiful,” Celia concluded
quickly.

Too quickly,
Seth thought,
Nerves -
not a good sign
.

“
Jake said we’d only skimmed
the surface. He mentioned how far away the outlying line shacks
sat. He reminded me the Shooter Creek remained the northern
boundary of your spread. He said you own everything almost to the
Oklahoma territory.”

Seth watched her and only nodded. His
expression remained benign.

Celia reacted with her hands moving to
grip the bench on either side of her. “Do you need help with your
back?” She rose.

The question came out of the blue. To
his surprise, Celia got up and walked toward the tub. Leaning over
the squat table to retrieve the soap, she began to lather his
back.

What was she up to?
Seth stilled in the water. His next thought had
nothing to do with the cooling temperature of the water. He
realized the true reason he’d been driven to get back to the ranch
so quickly, which had nothing to do with her safety and everything
to do with her.

The stroke of her fingers along his
back had him tensing and sent blood rushing to his shaft. Seth
closed his eyes and willed himself to focus on something else. His
back muscles twitched as her hands glided up and down in a slow,
rhythmic dance along his backbone.

“
Seth, I wanted you to know
how much I appreciate all you’ve done for me.” Her voice sounded
like distant music. “I don’t think I would have made it without
you.”

Trying valiantly to regain his
composure, Seth sat in the water in silence for a time. Her words
sounded sincere. Then as if driven, he slowly leaned back in the
tub. He had to admit, if she was toying with him, she was damn good
at deception. “No need to thank me, Celia. You’ll always be able to
count on me.” Seth took mental stock one more time and assured
himself he was in control. But the need churning inside him had
other ideas. One look into those emerald green orbs and his heart
gave a little lurch. His mind simply stopped working.

Celia’s fingers continued to glide over
his soap-slicked skin. With each stroke, her fingertips were
sending molten heat straight to his loins.

They reminded him of satin. He wanted
more.

Before he realized what he was doing,
he reached out and clasped the nape of her neck. Feeling her start
to pull back, Seth whispered, “Relax girl, I won’t hurt you.” With
his eyes on her lips, Seth hesitated briefly, searching for
something – anything, which would let him know how she would react.
Then he reached up and took her mouth with his. The hunger breaking
free had nothing to do with sensibilities. This time he coaxed her
mouth to open and let him taste the sweetness of her tongue. Seth’s
pulse hummed as her lips gave warm and tender under his. She opened
for him like a flower and Seth tasted the warmth of her lips, which
were pliant against his. He groaned softly. She tasted like honey
and the line of her throat like cream heated by the sun. He
thoroughly explored the inside of her mouth and then the slender
neckline she offered when her head lolled to the side on her own
gentle moan. Slowly he discovered every slick, wet curve of her
mouth. His teeth grazed her lips and tasted the salt of hunger in
her response. Did she want him as much as he wanted her right
now?

Celia exhaled and her eyelids fluttered
shut.

The hunger growing inside him knew only
one end. Long agile fingers sank deep into the silken strains of
her hair as he levered himself up the side of the tub angling for a
better hold on her warm skin. Cupping her head in his big hand, he
kissed her again. This time it was with the fever of need. A need
he’d, long ago, locked away. It surged up from the cold depths of
his own desire and rocked Seth with its intensity. Taking her mouth
in an attack meant to capture and possess, Seth realized too late
he was losing the battle with reason, but he’d lost the will to
care. She tasted so good. Her head fell to the side on another soft
sigh of pleasure. Seth found himself trailing long wet, ardent
kisses down her neck. The soft dip of her collarbone was a perfect
place for him to linger. He could feel the blood pulsing there,
just under her skin. Her smell, the smell of roses was all around
him. Another soft moan escaped. So full of life, a life he’d
thought he’d never hold in his arms again. The warning bells were
going off in his head by then. His blood was roaring in his ears.
He was in too deep to heed any of it. He felt like a drowning man
with no desire for rescue.

It took a moment for it to register.
She was saying something and the air around him was cooling as she
drew back.

“
Seth…” Her voice was a
fragile murmur as she pushed gently at his chest. “I think I better
go and let you get out.” Celia shifted and disengaging his hands.
She slowly rose from the edge of the tub.

His eyes were on hers, those deep green
orbs, pulsing with a thinly veiled need. He could see it lying
there in their depths, a molten-hot, burning fire. Then, as quickly
as it had come, it was gone - snuffed out like a candle flame.
Logic reined once more.

“
You better get out before
you turn into a prune,” she said primly. The words, spoken so
plainly, sounded strange coming from the swollen mouth Seth saw was
bruised red with passion. Her lip quivered before she bit down on
it.

He noted a small mark along her neck
where, he surmised, he’d used his teeth. Some base demon urged him
to pull her back and take what was so close. He simply stared.
Unable to say anything, Seth watched her cross her arms over her
breasts in a protective gesture. There was no question in his mind
she’d been affected by the kiss. She ran her tongue over her lips
again and looked away. Seth watched her as she brushed deliberately
at the front of her day dress before she spoke again.

Long, sooty lashes rose and Celia
looked once more into his face. “I better go,” she whispered.
Heading for the door, she quickened her pace when, she heard him
sloshing water as he rose.

***

With the door to her own
room at her back, Celia leaned on the frame and tried to slow her
breathing. The warmth in the pit of her stomach wasn’t just nerves.
She was no virgin. After all, she’d known Seth’s body all those
years ago. Just now, something had happened. Something shouldn’t
have happened, but it had. She told herself not to think about what
it had meant.
It meant nothing – nothing
at all!

She had been sitting on the bench one
minute and the next minute she had been washing his back. Stupid,
stupid move, Celia berated herself with the obvious. Looking for
someone to blame, she focused on Seth. She couldn’t forget the
picture of how he looked in the tub, those broad shoulders gleaming
in the water, with the scent of his soap lingering in the air. It
had been a trap and she’d fallen for it. The steam seeping from the
tub had swirled around his glistening dark hair in what she could
only think of as a sexual haze. She had watched droplets of water
trail down his chest. Celia cursed low for considering their path.
His touch had set off warning bells she’d blatantly ignored. Damn
him to hell, but he had no right to make her feel the way she had
only moments ago. Clutching her stomach, she realized it was
exactly what she had wanted to feel. Celia cursed him all over
again.

Forcing herself to consider the
situation rationally, Celia decided her mind had left her, simply
disappeared at the sight of him. There had been all those midnight
swims down at the creek so long ago. She was simply reminiscing.
Stamping her foot in frustration, Celia began to pace, her feet
hitting the wooden floor echoed in the room. The voice in her head
only laughed at her dilemma.

Suddenly, the same voice reminded her
of why she’d ventured across the hall to begin with. Damn the man,
for making her forget! Berating her reflection in the mirror, Celia
countered with the fact she’d been distracted. She’d gone to tell
him about Red Bear. If for no other reason than to give the Loflins
the chance to defend what was theirs. She owed Seth that much.
Celia scrubbed at her face in frustration.

The small voice of reason reared its
uninvited head, yet again, and reminded her of the consequences Red
Bear faced if she told Seth about her discovery. She could
inadvertently be signing The People’s death warrant.

***

Seth toweled off and pulled on clean
pants. His movements collided with irritation. Surprised at the
sensations running through him, he swore under his breath. His mood
had gone from dubious, to aroused, to sullen, all in a matter of
minutes. The only defense he had for what he’d done was the way she
looked when he’d first seen her standing there gawking at him. So
alluring and sensual, Celia was oblivious to what she did to his
insides. The kisses they’d shared on minutes ago were branded on
his brain. Not even the cooling water of the tub had dampened his
arousal. Damn his soul to hell and back for trying a move like that
on her! He’d had no right to turn her words of gratitude into
something so base.