Comanche Haven (The Loflin Legacy: Book 1) (34 page)

“
I thought you were a
ghost.” He grinned foolishly waving a hand about. “Hell, don’t
scare me like that again,” he chided.

“
I thought you were going to
sleep on the couch,” Celia chirped.

Now, why would he do that? Seth belched
and swayed unsteadily. Wrinkling his nose, he took a couple of
steps toward the other side of the bed. Settling on the soft
mattress to remove his boots, he looked back over his shoulder.
“You gonna come back to bed with me, darlin’?” He saw two of her.
Tracking her progress, he watched as she came around to his side of
the bed and proceeded to stomp on his toes. “Shit! What’d you do
that for?” he whined.

“
Seth, we have to
talk.”

Her slender, curvy body was right in
front of him. All he had to do was reach out.

“
There have to be some rules
to this charade.” She gave his sleeve a good tug.

He only swayed.

“
Number one, whenever I take
a bath, I need my time alone, understand?” She tapped her slender
foot. “You’ve got to respect my privacy.”

“
You wanna take another
bath?” He reached for her and gathered thin air. “Sure thing,
darlin’, we can take a bath. Come ‘ere.” He reached again for her
and she side-stepped him. Seth stumbled and teetered before
righting himself. Wasn
’
t that sweet? She was shy. “Come ‘ere, sweetness.” He wiggled
his fingers at her.

“
Seth?” She fisted her hands
on her hips. “We need some rules!”

“
Hmm?” The oil lamp was
illuminating her silhouette through the filmy gown. He smiled
wickedly as he reached for her again. “Yes, ma’am, rules, I heard
you.” Stumbling again when she shifted, his foot caught the chair
leg and he found the need to vent. “Damn room.” Slumping into the
brocade chair, he rubbed and then tugged on his boot. His eyes,
however, didn’t leave the sensual figure in the sheer, white gown
that skittered away to the other side of the bed. Eyes of pure
emerald glared at him from there.

“
Are you listening to me?”
Those lovely hands came back to rest on curvaceous hips again. “You
haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” She threw a crouched
pillow at his head.

Ducking smoothly, he glanced back at
the seductress. “I heard every word you said, darlin’.” With the
last boot off, he stood and started to unbutton his
pants.

“
What are you doing, now?”
She sounded shocked.

Seth looked up from his task in
bewilderment. “I’m taking off my pants - getting ready for bed.” He
continued to watch her as he undid more buttons. “That’s the way it
works. You have to get out of your clothes first.”

“
Of all the…” Celia threw up
her hands. Turning her head as he dropped his drawers, she
continued, “You said you’d sleep on the couch.”

Seth glanced at the couch and back at
his wife. “I’d thought I’d use the bed. It’s a perfectly good bed,”
he told her with all honesty. The buzz of the whiskey was
dissipating and a slight headache was taking its place. Besides, he
wasn’t a simpleton, he knew what she meant. His good-humored mood
was shifting into one of irritated sexual frustration and he glared
across the bed at his new wife. “Hell, if it makes you feel any
better, put some pillows down the middle of the damn thing – for
protection – from your devoted husband.” He smiled wryly at her and
turned his back.

Celia let out a huff as she saddled
closer to her side and started doing just that. With a mound of
pillows between them, she slid between the sheets and pulled the
cover up to her chin.

Seth;s own frustration mounted as he
slid naked between the sheets on his side of his wife’s barricade.
“Want to discuss more rules, my love?” he quipped.

“
I think we need to get some
sleep.” With the statement, the light went out and once more, they
found themselves in the dark. “Good night, Seth.”

“
Good night, Mrs. Loflin,”
he shot back in annoyance. With an arm flung restlessly over his
head, he lay there in the stillness and watched the shadows on the
ceiling. He considered the picture she’d made only minutes before
standing there with the light caressing her body. His own body
reacted in response and he growled low.

“
A fine kettle of fish
you
’
ve gotten
yourself into, Boyo.” He could see Maggie’s smirking face hovering
over the bed.

Punching his pillow with a fist, he
turned his back to the makeshift barricade that lay between them.
The irony didn’t escape him as he berated himself yet again. He lay
next to a woman who held him captivated and he couldn’t even reach
out and touch her as he wanted to.

***

Sometime in the wee hours of the
morning, Celia came bolt upright in the bed. “Nooooo…” Her hair
curtained her as she folded forward hugging herself. Chilled from
the cold sweat that drenched her, she brushed frantically at the
tears as they streamed down her face. Disgruntled with herself for
having a nightmare to begin with, she flinched when Seth’s arms
came around her.

“
Easy now. Easy,
girl.”

She jerked away.

“
Celia, it was just a
dream.”

“
I know!” she shot back.
Running trembling fingers through her hair, she rocked. “It just
felt so real.”

A gentle hand rubbed up her backbone
and then another joined the first to massage at the tension
gathered in her neck. “You want to talk about it?” His question
sounded so sincere, she relaxed fractionally.

“
Sometime it helps.” He
leaned back and rested on one elbow.

The moonlight filtering through the
drapes fell across his broad, bare shoulders. How strong and solid
he was, she mused. A woman would be safe in his arms.

Celia glanced sideways at this man in
her bed. There was no taunt or sarcasm in his voice. He was being
sincere. She’d never had anyone to talk with about her dreams. No
one she even been comfortable with talking about the strange
urethral fog that was her dream world. “You would do that for
me?”

“
I would. I’ve had a few bad
nights of my own over the last twelve years. It helps to talk it
out.” Seth traced a long, lean finger over the snow-white sheet
before glancing into her troubled face. “You don’t really have to
understand the dream, just put it into words. Somehow, that makes
it more manageable. Why don’t you give it a try?” He offered softly
as he reached out with that lean finger and ran it along the
outline of her cheek gently.

Celia experienced an easy warmth glide
through her.

“
Here, lay back and tell me
about it.” He patted the pillow in invitation.

She leaned back against the pillow he
plumped at her back and found his arm there for support. Closing
her eyes, she focused on remembering the dream instead of his arm
cradling her neck. The words came out stilted and strained. “It’s
pitch dark. The air is cold and I hear hoof beats. Someone’s
chasing me. I’m running and calling out for help.” She swiped at
the perspiration still beaded on her forehead. With the effort to
remember clearly, she closed her eyes. “I’m screaming for help, but
no one comes. There’s no one to hear. I’m all alone.” She opened
her eyes then and flicked a nervous glance at him. In the meager
light, she saw his chest rise and fall with his breathing. His eyes
were shadowed but she could clearly see the solid line of his jaw
as he watched her.

“
Go on, Celia. You’ll feel
better.”

“
Then I fall…no…I’m hit from
behind and I fall into the dirt. There’s snarling and snapping. I
hear growling and I’m so scared. I can’t get up and I feel death
around me. But then strong arms cover me. The arms are furry, like
that of a wild animal. Long claws graze my skin but don’t puncture.
I don’t know how, but the animal’s warmth spreads through me. I
realize the animal is there to protect me. This much I can
understand even though he hasn’t said a word. I hear his voice in
my mind. He speaks to me in whispers, trying to sooth my fear. I
understand his words and trust the beast will save me. It’s more a
feeling than it is a declaration.” A short, nervous laugh escaped
as she shoved at her hair. “Still, the attack continues. Despite my
confidence in the beast, he is injured. There’s so much blood. I
begin to fear for his life. Calling on the Great Spirit to help, I
fight back, trying to protect the beast. It’s dark. I can’t see the
attacker’s face, but I lash out anyway. Someone is screaming
…louder and louder. That’s when I woke up.” Turning into his chest
then, she let him hold her. “Seth, I’m sorry. I’ve been so much
trouble for you.”

“
That’s not true.” He rubbed
along her arm and the silk of her nightgown made a smooth swishing
sound. “What do you think the beast was?”

“
I don’t really know. I’ve
had the dream before. Perhaps it was a wolf. It was there to
protect me, this much I know. I’m sure of it.”

“
You said you’ve had the
dream before?”

“
Yes. Several times. More
here lately. What do you think it means?”

“
That’s hard to say. Is it
always the same?”

“
Sometimes the beast is in
front of me shielding me from the danger. Other times it is
covering me, saving me from the blows.” She closed her eyes. “I’ve
been so much trouble to you. I don’t know why you want to listen to
my nightmares.”

“
Celia…” He reached out,
taking her chin in his hand. His fingers gently held her face as he
looked into her eyes. “I’ve told you before I’d be here for you.
You’re safe. You’re safe right here with me.” He repeated.
“Okay?”

She sighed gently and relaxed into him.
She had a wonderful calm wash over her as she let him hold her. “My
protector.” She smiled inwardly. “I’ve already been so much
trouble. The problems will continue, Seth. You realize that with me
around, you’ll always be in jeopardy. I just don’t want any harm to
come to you because you tried to help me.”

“
Nonsense, nothing gonna
happen to me.” He shot her a wicked grin. “The devil and I are on a
first name basis, darlin’. You don’t have to worry your pretty head
about me. I’ll be just fine.” Glancing at the clock hanging on the
wall, Seth noted the time. “Why don’t you hunker down and try and
get some rest. I’ll stay right here until morning.” Holding her in
his arms, he worked them both down into the soft bed, before
settling his head next to hers on the pillow.

It was hard not to reach out and kiss
him. Her fingers tingled with the want to touch him. Closing her
eyes tight against the desire that bubbled up inside her, She tried
instead to focus on his breathing. Steady and solid, she
concentrated on his presence. “Thanks, Seth.”

“
My pleasure, darlin’. Now
get some rest. Good night.”

She lay in the darkness thinking. Her
world had changed so much and he was right at the core of the
changes. He’d rode in and saved her time and again. Would he
continue to? She doubted even he could withstand the barrage of
problems that came with being associated with a half-breed. His
father hadn’t. Celia glanced at the clock herself. Time, they
needed time, she mused. A sheer wash of desperation swept over her
and she trembled. Would he understand when she had to defend The
People’s death or stand up to Brannon? That she couldn’t be sure
of, but she’d do her best to see that he knew how much she
appreciated everything he was doing for her. Even if he didn’t love
her, he cared for her. She expelled air from her lungs slowly and
inched backward to look into his face. He was watching
her.

“
I can’t believe you married
me to keep me safe. You’ve given up so much already for
me.”

“
I’m just trying to shore up
the edges.” He took his finger and nudged her chin into his hand.
“Besides, we have a real history. Maybe we could just start over.
Pretend we were twenty again. I remember how you used to feel
beneath me, all warm and willing.”

Celia narrowed her eyes at him, despite
her heart beating wildly in her chest. “This would be rather
difficult considering our agreement of a marriage in name only.”
Despite or maybe because of the fact that she knew better, she
reached out and ran a finger down the trail of hair that ran low on
his belly.

He flinched and grabbed her wrist.
“Hey, cut it out or I’ll have to retaliate, contract or not.”
Though his voice sounded mischievous, his eyes had gone cloudy with
need.

Celia’s breath slipped out as she
shifted and moved to the edge of the mattress. “I don’t believe the
arrangement says anything about retaliating.” A whiff of a smile
crossed her lips before she settled with her back to him. “Don’t
forget to adjust the pillows. I have a very devoted husband.” She
punched her own pillow before resting her head on it. “Good night,
Mr. Loflin.”

***

Seth’s side of the bed was cool when
Celia awoke. The loneliness settled into her bones as she
considered what waking up next to him again would be like. Blinking
into the tiny shards of light filtering through the slats of the
folding screens across the window, she told herself she was being
silly. Yearning for him wasn’t going to help. Aggravation won out
over the longing as she flung back the covers and got up, slipping
into a robe. Rubbing her arms against the chill in the room, she
moved to the dressing screen prepared to get ready for the day.
Casey would be waking soon and needed her bandages
changed.