Love by Dawn (5 page)

The handsome cowboy smiled and said, “Good
morning, wild cat. Sleep well?”

The best in a long
time,
she thought
.

Of course the truth lay dormant in her throat
and all her hatred returned ten fold. Casey hissed and sat upright
so swiftly she almost pulled her arm out of its socket. Pain caused
her to wince and she was pulled quickly back so that her torso made
contact again with Blake. Lying half on him, she tried to struggle,
but her captor held firm with his free hand. There was heat at the
small of her back were he applied slight pressure with his palm.
Her eyes opened wide when she felt the bulge on her hip and she
wasn’t so naive that she didn’t know the effect she was having on
him. She couldn’t even swallow upon realizing that his arousal not
only scared her but thrilled her too. Was her brother still
sleeping or witnessing this embarrassing scene? She could only hope
he was asleep and she only wanted away from Blake before she forgot
herself and relented to his ardent display of affection.

“Stop your wiggling sweetheart or I may not
be able to keep my promise to your brother,” he whispered hotly in
her ear making her innards tingle and causing her to gasp.

“Let me go, you sonofabitch,” she sneered in
a throaty whisper.

“Tsk, tsk...” His lips twitched with
amusement. “Do you have any idea how your raspy voice makes me all
the more conscience of your sensuality?”

She watched his expression go from casual
jesting to aloofness, then grow serious.

“We have to do something about that nasty
mouth of yours.” His fingers pressed into her back. And he did.

The kiss took Casey by surprise. When she
opened her mouth to utter more choice words, he diverted her
complaining with his tongue. The kiss astonished her. It was far
from anything she expected and nothing like with her father or
brother. She lay helpless, savoring the sensations she could’ve
never have imagined. So caught up in the spell, she hadn’t realized
that he had pulled away. Unconsciously, her head was limp in the
palm of his big hand. Her eyes stayed closed until she no longer
felt his lips and only a tingling sensation remained on her swollen
mouth. Mortified to be caught in such a dreamy state, she felt heat
clear down to her toes; this blushing was becoming a nasty habit.
Annoyed at Blake and her own response, she pulled herself off him.
There was a loss of warmth and the coolness of the morning air made
her shiver.

Blake sat up and untied the rope saying,
“Every time you speak in an uppity way, Casey, I’ll kiss those
sweet lips. If you keep it up the way you have been I will be
kissing that delicious mouth, to my delight, many times.”

He chuckled the way it made
her nerves raw and she scrambled quickly to her feet. She should
remind him that she was not Casey to him, but she liked the way her
nickname rolled of his tongue.
His sweet
tongue
.

Angered that she had succumbed to his kiss,
she turned her ire onto him and snorted and spat a few curse words.
Then she remembered his promise and stepped back a few feet
wondering if she could survive another one of his mind-boggling
kisses.

Blake rose and grabbed her arm. “Look,” he
snapped, as sparks flew from his eyes. “As you can see, I’m in the
best of moods and I’m sorry about your brother but...”

She wrenched her arm free then marched away.
She wanted to wash the filth from her face and the warmth of his
hand from her arms. Could the cold water take away the tingle she
experienced when he touched her, or the kiss she succumbed to?
Casey fumed mad at him and at herself for letting him get to her
like that. What was wrong with her anyway? He was her enemy. So
confused, she stomped into the stream forgetting to remove her
boots.

Drat! It’s all that beastly
ogre’s fault
, she told herself and sat
heavily on the bank removing her boots that were already starting
to dry rot from the many times she got them wet before.

Damn, that kiss!

With no knowledge of how much time she had,
she quickly removed her shirt and pants looking nervously over her
shoulder not wishing to be caught partly undressed. Standing in her
camisole and her long johns she sponged herself and then took care
of other matters. As it was, she was given plenty of time. She sat
by the stream taking this solitary moment to think about her mixed
feelings and how she was going to help her brother. And she was
determined to help him.

Damn, that kiss!

Certain that Blake would be on guard even
more now, she believed that her next chance would have to be at the
fort. It wouldn’t be easy, but she had a good feeling in her gut.
Last night she dreamt that she and Hunter were together in a
strange place. They were in a wild and unfamiliar land, surrounded
by people wearing little clothing. Her sixth sense wasn’t always a
curse.

Damn, that kiss!

When he first woke, Blake studied her dreamy
face, dirty and all she was worth looking at. Last night he found,
as the restless minutes went by, that sleep was not easy with the
bundle of charms lying beside him. He knew when she finally fell
asleep, for it was then her stiff body relaxed against him. If only
he could have done the same. She was the most exasperating and
desirable female he had ever met and spooned with his body against
hers was a painful distraction. Honestly, it was sheer agony, but
he still grinned.

She had no idea what turmoil she was giving
to his resistance.

He had tried to control his
manhood from giving him away, but he failed miserably. Now, he
watched the little minx flee from him and believed she was just as
attracted to him as he was to her.
Sweetest kiss he had ever tasted.

Dammit, what a hell of a time to fall for
someone. He assumed she was trying to hate him for taking her
brother to prison and fighting something inside of her that he was
sure she never experienced before. Somehow, he would make it right
for her. She was one hell of a woman-child and when this was over,
he’d taste her sweet charms if it was the last thing he did. But
first, he had this mess to clear up.

Sweetest kiss.

Blake rolled his bed and went to untie
Hunter. The angry prisoner fumed and cursed at him as he was freed.
“Touch my sister again and I’ll kill you,” as he spat on his boots.
She’ll be safe with me,” Hunter mimicked his words with a sneer and
he didn’t miss the venom in the kid’s irises, turning his pecan
brown eyes as dark as hot cocoa.

“Shut up! Is everyone in your family a hot
head?” He pushed the boy ahead of him. He knew he was a heel taking
advantage of the situation, but he couldn’t help it. “It won’t
happen again,” he muttered under his breath, but wasn’t sure he
could keep his promise any better than he had before. Shit! He knew
he wouldn’t!

Sweetest kiss.

Always proud of the fact that he kept his
word, it bothered him more than he liked to admit that he had
failed. He didn’t like knowing he had a weak side and now he
wondered if this was good idea. He needed time alone with her and
at the fort would be the only place. He’d certainly make sure
Hunter was locked up, if only for a night; this was one time he’d
gladly eat his words. Those two had to have cut their teeth on
petrified wood, they were hard as nails.

“Now I know where Casey got her sassy mouth
from,” he grumbled and poked the stiff back before him. “Be quiet,
I’m in no mood to listen to your chatter and weak threats.” He
spoke with more anger than he had intended, but the kid went still
and remained silent. “And anyway, she’s too skinny for me,” Blake
lied. Oh, how he lied and he was doing too much of that lately,
especially to himself.

Sweetest kiss.

They approach the girl and she asked, “Would
you allow me to see to Hunter’s injury?”

Blake studied the beauty standing before him;
she was something else. Though only reaching to the middle of his
chest and very tiny in stature, she had the right curves in the
right places. His chest still tingled where her small but firm
breasts rubbed against him earlier. He recalled the small span of
her waist and the firm curve of her hips; there was no denying she
was all women beneath the baggy clothes. And now that she had
washed her small face, her beauty caused his senses to spin. He
already knew she had big, soft gold eyes, for no amount of dirt
could hide them. But now he could see they were fanned by dark,
full lashes; a man could get lost forever in her eyes. He didn’t
forget the twin dimples that appeared one time he caught her in a
smile. He wished she would smile for him again. Her creamy white
skin looked as smooth as it felt. A few freckles bridged her
upturned nose that was rising proudly high in the air. Her heart
shaped lips, which looked as if they were made to pout, formed
words.

His crotch tightened again and his desire was
coupled with frustration knowing he would never be able to keep his
promise. He never wanted anyone as much as he wanted that
woman-child before him. Annoyed at himself, he just wanted to jump
into the cold stream to cool his lust before he made a fool of
himself again, brother or no brother. And fool that he was, how he
wanted to taste those sweet lips again.

“I’ll take care of him,” he snapped, pushing
Hunter past her.

He heard Casey hiss to herself, then turned
to go back to camp to brew a pot of coffee. She yelled over her
shoulder, “Besides, being hungry and tired of beans, berries and
beef jerky, I’m totally disgusted with you mister and this
situation! I’m looking forward to a good meal I hope to get at the
fort and a little friendly company!”

After Blake took Hunter to refresh themselves
beside the stream, he tied Hunter to a tree again. He then
proceeded to whittle a stick into a sharp point and waded back into
the water to spear a few fish. He noticed Hunter’s look of
astonishment at his swiftness. “Something I learned from an Indian
friend,” he announced proudly as he flung another fish onto the
land. Although the Apache tribe he stayed with for a short time
didn’t eat fish, he learned the speediness of using a spear and
used it to his benefit.

Back at the camp, Blake handed Casey the
tiny fish and she accepted with her mouth slacked opened. “I assume
you can clean fish,” he stated sarcastically, then waited for her
retort, but was surprised when she said nothing. She nodded mutely,
his mouth watered in anticipation because he was also tired of
beans and beef jerky.

After the meal, Blake watched the pretty
girl lick her fingers clean, delighting in every last bite. Poor
thing, he didn’t realize how hungry she was. She didn’t eat
ladylike, but he found her very amusing, not like the women he had
known in his life. That thought conjured up Dawn Ann Summers. She
was the woman he was attracted to before going off to fight in that
Goddamn war. She came from a prominent wealthy family. Spoiled, but
so beautiful. She had cast a spell over him at an early age and she
helped him lose his virginity behind her father’s stables.

Of course he told her he loved her and she
dimpled prettily believing him. But what had he really known about
true love? He was a youth with itchy pants and Dawn Ann was a
willing partner. He realized as long as he claimed his love for her
was true, she would let him between her soft, white thighs. Then he
became addicted to her charms and soon he believed that he did love
her.

When he returned from living with the
Apaches, believing he had become much wiser, he returned home and
once again fell into Dawn Ann’s waiting arms. But when she brought
him home to her family announcing that they were to be wed, the
next day he joined the army. He realized too late that he only
lusted after the girl and he definitely was a coward when it came
to affairs of the heart. He now believed that the war matured him,
well at least he though so until he had the misfortune to meet
Casey.

He would have her, but he wouldn’t lie.
Right now, he didn’t like himself very much and one cannot love
another if one can’t respect their own hide. Still, he thought how
this woman-child certainly would make a stir if he brought her
home; refined she was not. The swear words that came out of her
mouth could put any man to shame but she was refreshing, she was
honest, and spunky for a female. Brave and stubborn and not afraid
to put up a good fight, he had to admire her and damn…if she wasn’t
down right pretty.

Disgusted with the situation and still
annoyed at her for coming into his life and turning it upside down,
not to mention the loss of sleep. He spilled the remaining coffee
into the fire and barked orders that they get starred. The fort was
another two days journey.

Love wasn’t in his future!

Blake helped the prisoner on to his feet and
side-glanced the exchange between the two. Hunter gave his sister a
loving smile telling her to be brave, her answer to him was a nod.
He didn’t miss the smile he was waiting for but it wasn’t for him
and he experienced a twinge of jealousy at the attention his
prisoner was receiving. Blake also caught the warning looks from
Hunter; their eyes met challengingly and he got the message.

When he helped Hunter on to the horse, Blake
growled, “Keep you snide looks to yourself, you’re in no position
to threaten me. I said I’ll not touch your sister and I’ll keep my
word. She’s just a snot-noses kid.” He told the lie with perfect
aplomb and walked away with the impression Hunter was consigning
him to the devil and knowledge he’d not get a moments sleep
tonight.

Kid? Who was he kidding?

“Oh, for cripes’ sake,” he grumbled beneath
his breath. He’d gone too long without a woman!