Petals on the River (73 page)

"The very best, I trow," she sighed, sweeping her hands admiringly over

his chest as he leaned back upon the bed.
 
He moved effortlessly,

carrying their weight to the center of the bed, and smiled up at her

with glowing eyes as he joined himself to her.

"Ride to your heart's content, my lady fair."

No other stallion had ever served her as well as this muscular,

bronzed-skin Hercules who raced beneath her.
 
Sweeping her ever onward,

he drew her breath out in panting gasps with his thrilling boldness,

surging upward to meet her and touching her in ways that made her shiver

with delight.
 
Scintillating excitement washed over her, as if she raced

through the breakers crashing upon a beach.
 
She could almost feel the

wind swirling through her hair, the salt spray snatching her breath and

misting her naked body with tiny droplets as her hips stroked with

quickening intensity the sleek, sturdy loins rising up be g i neath her

own.
 
The ride became more dedicated until the billowing spasms swept

over them, bathing them in joyful rapture and sweeping them out into a

sea of ecstasy.

Time ceased to be as they drifted ever so slowly back to shore, where

they lay locked together in sweet repose.
 
It was some moments later

when Gage finally left his bride.
 
Curled languidly upon the bed,

Shemaine watched with curious interest and pleasure as her husband took

buckskin britches from the armoire and yanked them on.
 
He fastened

them, pulled on a pair of soft hide boots, and then came back to the

bed.

Smiling down into her glowing green eyes, he spread a sheet over her

lovely body.

"You were right, my sweet."

A slight twisting of her brow conveyed her confusion.

"You do ride well."

The corners of Shemaine's lips turned upward enticingly.
 
"I had an

excellent steed, the finest I've ever ridden."

Gage dipped his head in acknowledgment of her compliment and then asked,

"Would you care for a dip in the stream after we eat?"

His wife shivered at the thought.
 
"Too cold."

"I'll keep you warm," Gage coaxed.

Shemaine raised a wondering brow at him, realizing he was serious.

"The sun is up.
 
Anybody who happened by could see us."

I, .
 
L A..

"I warned my men to stay away.
 
They wouldn't dare intrude upon us."

"And Potts?
 
What of him?"

"Until his wound heals, tis unlikely he'll have the endurance to come

this far from the hamlet, even if he's there." Gage canted his head and

gave her a beguiling smile.
 
"I can teach you some things we haven't

done yet."

Shemaine pursed her lips in a coy pout.
 
" Tis unfair the way you bribe

me."

"Aye, I know," he replied with a chuckle.

"Go get your chores done, my handsome husband," she urged with sudden

enthusiasm.
 
"And be quick about it.
 
As for me, I'll see what I can

cook up for us in a hurry."

His laughter accompanied his exit, and Shemaine found herself smiling

dreamily at the ceiling as she recalled the night of passion they had

shared together.
 
She was now convinced that Gage Thornton was far more

clever at making love than he was at building furniture, and that

profession, to be sure, he excelled at.

The moments passed swiftly as they completed their separate tasks, and

an hour aged into two while they broke the morning fast together. Seated

on the same bench, they shared their food as willingly as they shared

each other, feeding and being fed, kissing and caressing, fondling and

stroking as if they couldn't get enough of each other.

Shemaine was garbed in nothing more than a dressing gown when she

followed Gage across the front porch and accepted his helping hand in

descending the stairs.
 
At the water' s edge, she was timid about

discarding the robe and exposing herself to the uncertainty of her

surroundings, but after watching Gage strip to the buff and plunge into

the water, she finally relented.

"Oh, it's cold!" she complained, wading through the shallows.

"Refreshing and invigorating!" Gage corrected with a chuckle, feasting

his gaze upon her soft curves as he ran his fingers through his wet

hair.

"Chilling and frigid!" Shemaine insisted, shivering as the water came up

around her thighs.

"Come, love, I'll warm you." Spreading his arms invitingly, her husband

beckoned to her with a luminous smile.
 
"Only a little bit more and

you'll be in my embrace."' Shemaine gritted her teeth and forced herself

through the deepening stream until Gage reached out and pulled her to

him.
 
Drawing her arms around his neck, he smiled and folded his own

about her.

"You're warm," Shemaine murmured in admiration.

"Aye, just looking at you does that to me," Gage admitted, lightly

caressing her parted lips with his own.
 
Her nipples were cold and hard

and seemed to bore twin holes in his chest as he clasped her close

against him.

''I like the way you look at me," Shemaine whispered beneath his kisses.

"And I like what I see when I look at you.
 
I enjoy watching you dress,

too.
 
I've never seen a man clothe himself before today."

"You'll grow tired of looking when I'm old and feeble."

"Doubtful," she sighed with a smile.

"At least you're no longer afraid of looking at me."

"I never was." Shemaine waited for his response and laughed softly when

he drew back with a skeptical brow elevated.
 
"I was only fearful of you

catching me at it."

Enlightenment dawned, wrenching a grin from Gage.
 
"You may look at me

to your heart's content, madam.
 
I'm yours, to have and to hold."

"To have and to hold," she repeated softly, slipping her hands upward

over his hard chest and then around behind him to his firm buttocks.

"Such a delectable thought, to know that you're mine and I X can freely

touch you whenever I want.
 
You have such gratifying places to caress

and fondle."

| t "No less than you, madam," Gage muttered against her throat as he

reciprocated in kind.

Shemaine turned her face toward his cheek and brushed the tanned skin

with her lips.
 
"Do what you promised before you went out to gather the

eggs," she breathed.
 
"Teach me something new."

Lifting her against him, he slipped a hand between them to make them

one, drawing a trembling sigh from her.

"Do you like that?" he rasped, resettling his hands beneath her buttocks

as she twined her limbs about him to secure their bond.

"Oh, yes!" She was breathless with bliss.
 
"I like everything you do to

me."

"Disgusting!
 
" The word shattered their passion instantly, breaking

them apart in acute surprise.
 
Almost in unison they looked around to

find Roxanne standing in rigid disdain at the edge of the glade.

Mortified that another had intruded into their intimacy, Shemaine folded

her arms over her bosom and collapsed against Gage as he drew her back

to him.

"What in the hell are you doing here, Roxanne?" he barked.
 
The

realization struck him that she looked as wild and savage as a

fairhaired witch.
 
She had not taken time to comb her hair, and with the

L s..

breezes, the snarled strands seemed to fly about her face and shoulders

as if charged by her own fury.

Roxanne glared at them, conveying the venom that roiled within her.

With a defiant toss of her head, she sneered at Gage.
 
"I heard this

morning that you had married your bitch of a bondswoman!
 
But I had to

come see the truth for myself, because I had difficulty believing you

could be so foolish."

"Why?
 
Because I didn't marry you?" Gage asked caustically.

"No!" the woman shot back.
 
"Because you were foolish enough to take

another wife after you were almost hanged for killing your first one!
 
"

Shemaine's startled gasp wrenched a chuckling smirk from Roxanne, but

Gage's roar of denial came swiftly to negate her claim.

"That's a bloody lie, Roxanne, and you know it!"

The blonde bestowed her pitying gaze upon Shemaine.
 
"He'll kill you,

too, just like he killed Victoria....
 
When your husband grows vexed

with you, that's when he'll do it."

"I will tolerate no more of your vindictive accusations!" Gage bellowed.

"You know better than anybody that I didn't kill Victoria, but you came

out here to deliberately frighten Shemaine with your malicious lies!"

Shemaine's mind whirled in sudden confusion, and she shivered against

her husband, wondering if the woman's allegations had any merit.
 
But

then, why would Roxanne be so eager to have Gage for her own if she

thought him capable of murder?
 
If the woman truly believed what she

said, wouldn't she be afraid to come near him?
 
After all, if he had

killed before, he could do so again.
 
What would prevent him from flying

into a rage and snuffing out another life, just as he had Victoria's?

Yet Roxanne had been thoroughly committed to winning him for herself.

Bracing up her chin, Shemaine glared back at Roxanne, refusing to give

their adversary the satisfaction of seeing her draw away from Gage.
 
'I

don't believe you, Roxanne.
 
My husband wouldn't kill anyone!

"

"Wouldn't he?" Roxanne simpered smugly as she strolled to the edge of