Hearts Under Siege (Civil War Collection) (9 page)

Chapter Nine

Her head cleared as they entered an area dense with trees. She could disappear and head north.

She muttered over her shoulder, “Allow me a moment of privacy.”

Thomas pulled the horse to a stop and held her arms as she slid to the ground. She inched forth a few feet, pushing branches aside.

Home free.

Suddenly, someone swept her up and plopped her onto his shoulder. She screamed, pounding his back with her fists.

“It’s me, Alexandra. Stop screaming,” Thomas said.

“Put me down.”

He took her by the waist and lowered her. Her feet hit the ground with a thump. “Sit.”

“Here?” she asked.

“Sit,” he said again. “It’s time we had a talk.”

She knelt on the dirt, watching him through narrowed eyes.

Groaning, he sat down and pulled her onto his lap. Her heartbeat shot out of control.

“What are you doing?” She pulled away, struggling to stand.

“Keeping your clothing clean. Stop wiggling.”

She stilled, her muscles poised to fight if need be.

“Now, tell me why it’s so all-fired important for you to get to Vicksburg. If I had been a betting man, I would have put money on you trying to get home to be with your grandfather and your brother.”

She had tried not to think about it in order to avoid the guilt of abandonment in its wake. On impulse, she pulled the tube from around her neck.

“Before we left, Grand-père gave me this and urged me to get it to General Pemberton.” Her fingers wrapped possessively around it. “I don’t know what it is, but he said his life depended on it.”

“Let me see,” he demanded, taking it from her.

“It won’t mean anything to you,” she said. “It’s in code.” She twisted to watch him.

“Yes, it is,” he agreed, as he unrolled the paper and glanced over the letters.

“I’ve seen something like this before,” he said. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the code either.”

“Maybe I can figure it out,” she said, grasping for it.

He pulled it out of her reach.

“I’ll keep it,” he informed her. “There’s no need for you to worry about it.”

“No need for me to worry! My grandfather’s life depends on it. He placed it in my hands, not yours. I’ll be the one who keeps up with it.” Her face flushed as her voice lifted.

He eased the paper and tube into her hands.

“Thank you,” she muttered, surprised that the show of temper brought such easy results.

A lifetime of breeding taught her control of any displays of anger. She rolled the paper and slid it back into the tube, before slipping it beneath the collar of her shirt. Lifting her eyes to Thomas’s, her gaze snagged with his like a trapped firefly in lantern light.

“My God, Alexandra,” he said, almost with a catch in his voice. “I can’t stop wanting to touch you and feel you in my arms. You’re beautiful.”

Her flush of anger melted into one of pleasure. His words came unexpected and filled her with disbelief. Her hand lifted to her cropped hair. She swallowed the lump she hadn’t even realized rested in her throat. Then she smiled and caressed his cheek.

“It seems, sir, that we are afflicted by the same malady.”

He didn’t return her smile. His emotions flashed in his eyes. He reached out and placed his hands on her cheeks then slid his fingers to the sides of her head to tangle in her hair. Before she could catch her breath, his mouth covered hers. Again she shivered at the petal softness of his lips. Then, as she melted into his kiss, it changed, becoming fiercer and more demanding. He moaned, and she gasped in answer as his breath mingled with hers.

Uncountable moments passed. Birds chirping in the trees above them faded, and the heat of the sun on her back disappeared. There were only his hands in her hair, on her face, inching down her neck and back…his lips against hers, and the tingle of pleasure running along her spine.

If only time would stop and this moment would go on forever.

Thomas had other ideas.

“We have to stop,” he said against her lips.

Alexandra tried to understand, but the fog in her brain blocked out rational thought. “Stop? But why?”

The corners of Thomas’s mouth tipped up. “If we don’t stop now, we won’t be able to.”

“But I don’t want to stop,” she whispered on a tangled breath.

He chuckled. “Neither do I, but I’m only human, and a man at that.”

He gazed at her. “You must remember your reputation, ma chérie,” he uttered.

“Oh,” she murmured, lowering her gaze.

“I suppose we should be heading toward Vicksburg,” he said.

As the blood resumed its flow to her head and limbs, Alexandra allowed him to lift her onto the back of the horse. Drunk on his kisses, her thoughts whirled to match her high emotion. Thomas mounted the horse behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

The trip to Vicksburg promised to be long.

****

As they approached Aunt Maggie’s tidy little whitewashed cottage in late afternoon, the sun still high in the sky, cannonballs exploded, creating a rumble of thunder in the distance.

“This was a mistake,” Thomas muttered again, the words almost a mantra for the past two days.

Aunt Maggie’s house stood just off the main road. A large external root marked the turn. It had grown in a circle around the bend about two feet from the ground. The split trunk, likely the work of a mortar shell, rested alongside its fallen top on the road, making the landmark even more noticeable, albeit now transitory.

This fallen tree is a bad omen
.
Alexandra shivered and kept her thoughts to herself.

She fidgeted with nerves as they turned down the narrow road and made their way toward her aunt’s house.

“There it is,” Alexandra said, as the chimneyed rooftop came into view.

“Well, it’s still standing,” Thomas commented.

Chewing her fingernail, Alexandra didn’t respond. Something wasn’t right. She dug her fingers into Thomas’s thigh.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Alexandra’s stomach twisted as they reached the top of a rise concealed by a grove of trees, and the view cleared, presenting a whiteframed house and the field surrounding it. Union soldiers roamed everywhere.

Thomas cursed under his breath. Alexandra closed her eyes and swallowed a wave of nausea. Officers lounged on the porch, gathered at the well, and worst of all, lolled in shelters throughout the yard. Bombproof refuges riddled the hillside around the house like the inside of an ant bed with some strange breed of blue ants. Around the entrances of the shelters, lean-tos rose from the earth with dirt scattered at their bases. Only the occasional branch dotting the ground gave witness to trees and grasses, which once grew there. Alexandra swallowed hard, looking at a war zone.

She and Thomas sat there on the horse, lost in their own thoughts until a bombshell arced toward them, its whine accelerating but landing yards away.

“They saw us!” Alexandra exclaimed.

“I don’t think so,” Thomas said, jerking the reins to retrace their steps through the trees. “But we had better get out of here before one of those shells lands on our heads.”

They retreated a few yards and then dismounted under cover of trees and brush.

“How badly do you want to get into the city?” Thomas asked.

“I have to deliver this message and find my aunt. Her home has been destroyed, and I don’t even know if she’s alive.” Her voice hitched.

“Come here,” Thomas said, holding out his arms to her.

She flew into his embrace and closed her eyes. As he held her close, she placed her face against his chest, resigned. She didn’t know how long he held her like that. It could have been a minute or an hour. She didn’t care. She could stay here in his arms for a lifetime.

He placed his finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. She opened her eyes. He studied her face then placed a soft kiss on her forehead before pulling her close again.

“It’s an insane thing to do,” he murmured, “but we’ll have to slip in past the enemy lines. They likely have the city surrounded. You have to know there is a possibility that we could be captured.”

Alexandra shuddered. Everyone knew what that was like from stories about the horrors of prison life. Even if the enemy captured them, Alexandra knew that, as a female, she stood a good chance of better treatment than Thomas did. Was it worth it to risk Thomas’s well-being for her own cause?

As though reading her thoughts, he said, “I agree with you that this is the only way. I just want you to be aware of the dangers. If you can come up with any other options, by all means, let me know.” He held her close.

“I think I’m qualified to know the dangers of war. If you recall, I’ve been subjected to quite a number of dangers since meeting you.”

His fingers caressed the back of her head.

“Humph,” he said, stepping away from her and retrieving the canteen from the horse. “We’ll need to lie low until nightfall. Then we’ll move. How well do you know the area?” he asked, removing the lid from the canteen.

Alexandra frowned. She’d always remained within sight of the house, except when she and Jeffy explored the nearby woods. She knew how to get into the city, but that was about it. Nothing that would help them now. “Not very well,” she answered.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll just move toward the sound of cannon-fire.”

Thomas secured the horse, looping the reins across a low limb, and they rested there in the shade of trees. Alexandra lay down and closed her eyes to rest. She drifted to sleep from pure exhaustion. When she woke, Thomas lay on his back beside her, staring at the starfilled sky with his arms folded behind his head. Alexandra sat up and stretched then laughed when she realized how unladylike it was to do so in male company.

“What’s funny?” Thomas asked, turning to watch her.

“Nothing.” She crossed her legs and reveled in the freedom from social mores she hadn’t experienced with anyone other than Jeffy. “How long did I sleep? It’s almost dark already.”

“Not long,” he said, with a glance at the sky. “It’s going to rain.”

As though to support his prophecy, a raindrop splashed onto Alexandra’s head.

She groaned. “Couldn’t it wait until we got there?”

He grimaced. “Actually, this could be a good thing. There will be fewer soldiers out. They’ll still be on watch, but they won’t be standing around talking and smoking.” He lifted his gaze to the sky again.

Lights flashed up high, and thunder boomed from a volley of mortar shells.

“I can’t believe I slept with all that noise.”

“They stopped for awhile. Besides, you were tired.”

Alexandra twisted to study him. His eyes were closed, his face blank. Her stomach growled, and she remembered that Thomas had only eaten a bite or two of his biscuit at their last meal, giving her the rest of their supply. If she were hungry, he must be starving.

****

Now that they had reached their destination, getting at least as close as they could, Thomas needed to rejoin the army. This is where his and Alexandra’s paths split. Would he see her again? And more importantly, did he want to? Her aunt’s house was only a few yards away, blocked from view only by some scant underbrush, with swarms of Yankees within earshot. But for now the Yankees weren’t aware of their presence. He watched from the corner of his eye as she stood up and brushed the dirt from her trousers. He’d come to enjoy the sight of her lithe body in boy’s clothing. Determined to protect her honor by keeping his hands to himself left him on edge.

He watched her discover wild blackberries near their camp. After she popped one in her mouth, she closed her eyes and chewed slowly. God, he wanted her. He wanted to be the one to put that expression of pleasure on her face. His blood ran hot through his veins. Making a pouch with her shirttail, she collected the berries. He waited, knowing she would share her find with him.

A rattling sound niggled at Thomas’s consciousness, and the nerves prickled on the back of his neck. Then the sound registered. He grabbed her, and, wrapping his arms around her waist, hauled her off the ground and spun her away. The snake struck and slammed against the back of his leg. A shower of blackberries exploded around them.

Setting her down a few feet away from danger, he ripped a low-growing limb from a tree and strode toward the hissing creature. It retreated back toward the briars, and Thomas slammed the branch against its body before it could get there. The vile thing went limp. Thomas swept it forward using his makeshift weapon and beat its head, striking over and over again until it was indiscernible. His anger spent, he turned back to Alexandra, breathing hard. Her eyes were wide as she watched him.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

“No. Did it bite you?” She went to him and clutched his arms. “Are you all right?”

“I think so.” Thomas sat down and took off his boot. He lifted it eyelevel and found two pinsized holes at the ankle. He dropped the boot and slid off his sock, turning his foot back and forth in search. Nothing. He sighed in relief.

Alexandra ran her hand along his foot, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Raindrops sprinkled through the roof of leaves. Her fingers slid over his damp skin.

“You saved my life,” she said, looking into his eyes.

His skin heated with shame as he recalled his previous thoughts.

“I only did what had to be done,” he said, his tone flat.

Alexandra didn’t answer but considered him with a question in her eyes. He hadn’t just killed the snake; he had smashed it. She dropped her gaze a second and sighed. Her eyes came up to meet his again. She moved to kneel in front of him and pressed her lips softly against his, lingering. He responded like a man starved.

With a groan, he swept her onto her back and pressed against her. The contact enflamed his heated blood. His lips forced hers apart, and his tongue tasted hers. His hands tangled in the hair at the sides of her face then slid down to her waist.

Alexandra arched her back, pulling him closer when closer was impossible. Her tongue matched his, her hands twisting in his hair. He gentled his kiss, caressing her lips. She placed her hands around the back of his head and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss again. He obliged her unspoken request and reached beneath her shirt to stroke the silky skin of her back.

Time ceased to exist. The rain slackened to a slow drizzle, cooling him in the sweltering summer heat. Shells exploded like fireworks in the background. With their lips fused, he couldn’t break the contact. Everything but this beautiful woman faded into the background.