Texas Lily (17 page)

As she cried out her release, Lily felt Cade's seed pouring hot and heavy deep inside of her, and the sensation convulsed her even more. It didn't seem possible that after all these years she could find what she had lost in one spring evening, but it was there, the heat and the heaviness and the excitement. And the peace.

Cade stayed inside her, merely rolling over and wrapping her in a blanket so they lay bound in a cocoon, touching everywhere possible. Their clothes were an irritation they could afford to ignore while the most intimate parts of their bodies lay joined. Aching with the battering that unused muscles had received, Lily gradually slipped into sleep.

They woke again with the dawn. Lily was too sore to respond when Cade's wandering fingers pushed aside her drawers, but he was already swollen with need, and there was no denying him. How could she deny him after all she had already granted? And when he finally entered her, Lily discovered she was ready to take him after all.

They lay briefly in the quiet aftermath of exhaustion, until the sounds of the camp arising intruded on their privacy.

Cade glanced down at Lily's rumpled chemise with regret now that light was creeping through the cracks. He would have liked to have seen her nude, but there was time yet for that. He would wait and savor the thought until tonight.

As it was, she was beautiful in his eyes with her hair loosened in a golden tangle against the buffalo robe, her wide blue eyes half-lowered and sultry with their love-making, her generous lips swollen with his kisses. His gaze drifted appreciatively over the full rise of Lily's breasts to the dip of her flat waist and swell of her hips. She was a beautiful woman. He had done well in his choice of wife.

Lily's eyes widened as she realized Cade was staring at her, and he caught the flash of blue before she spoke.

"I must get back to Roy. If he's fevered, no one will know how to treat him."

So much for contemplating a lingering courtship of kisses and lovemaking in the grass under the noonday sun. At least she wasn't screaming rape. She had wanted what they had done as much as he had. Cade had worried about that, but he no longer had any doubts about her passion. Although she felt nearly as tight as a young girl, she had a woman's responses, and he was satisfied.

"You are a married woman now; you will have to fetch your own water. There is a creek in the trees behind the village."

Rising unhurriedly, Cade pulled up and adjusted his denims, and Lily felt her heart pound just at the sight of his nimble hands fastening the buttons over his flat abdomen and narrow hips. It wasn't until he walked out that his words sank in, and she wanted to heave something at him.

Damn! Since when had she begun thinking with what was between her legs instead of her head? Cade robbed her of all logical thought when he was in her presence. She was behaving just like a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl again. Would she never learn?

But as she pulled on her clothes and found her way to the creek, reality closed in. She didn't know by what law they had been married, and she was inclined to ignore his assertions, but she couldn't ignore the evidence of her own body. Even as she daringly stripped and immersed herself in the cold water, she could see the bruises of his passion and knew the depth in which he had planted his seed. If she wasn't pregnant now, Cade would see that she soon would be.

That shed a whole new light on matters. At least this time the man had taken the time to offer his name, if a man without a name could do that. Lily didn't doubt for a moment that Cade considered them married. He hadn't taken her when he could have because he didn't want her to bear a bastard. In his eyes, what they had just done was legal.

That posed a whole array of interesting possibilities which Lily wasn't ready to confront. Not on an empty stomach. The thought of a man like Cade in her bed every night was exciting, but if she ever went beyond that thought...

Lily shuddered and got dressed. She could feel her protective walls tumbling down already.

Cade returned to his usual noncommunicative self as they ate their meal and saddled their horses. There was no formal farewell when they took their leave from the camp. Several women watched them and Lily waved at the one she recognized, but the smile she received in return could have meant anything.

As they rode out, they could see the two youngsters trying out their new mounts on the hill. The boys gave them a spirited chase, flying down to cut across their path, but then they were gone and only the trees closed around them, and Lily and Cade were alone.

"I didn't think I would ever see the day when I could appreciate a sidesaddle." Lily adjusted herself uncomfortably on the heavy man's saddle.

A flicker of amusement crossed Cade's impassive features as he took in the area of her discomfort. "You should not expect to be ridden all night and get up and ride the next day. We could have stayed."

Lily's cheeks flamed at his casual terminology for what they had done. "I'll remember that," she replied stiffly.

They rode in silence until Lily's curiosity got the better of her. "Cade?" He twisted in his saddle and looked at her questioningly. "What did you mean when you said we were married?"

"You accepted my horse, didn't you?" He nodded at the huge gray she rode even now. "You invited me into your house and brought me a dowry of two mustangs. My father approved. That is all that is necessary."

His satisfied tone raised her anger. "You know that isn't all that is necessary!"

Cade shrugged and walked his mount through a particularly narrow strip between trees. "We can go to town and sign the
alcalde's
book, if you like. There are no priests. I would take you to San Antonio and a church, but your rebels are probably already there trying to blow holes in the city with their cannon. What more would you have me do?"

"You could have at least asked me," Lily answered spitefully. He was too close to truth for comfort. Marriages were a haphazard thing in this country. She would have preferred San Antonio, but after taking Goliad, the rebels were undoubtedly marching to the next city. She didn't want a church that much. But she would have liked to have been asked and to have had her father and son present. She didn't feel in the least married.

"If I'm married, what is my name? Mrs. Cade?"

He tilted his head as if to consider the notion. "Probably not. It might be easiest if you call yourself Senora de Suela. That's my grandfather's name."

"Do you have an Indian name?"

"Just my birth name. I did not stay with the tribe long enough to give myself an adult name. My father is Lipan and does not have a family name."

"What is your birth name?"

They had reached the grassy plain, and Cade could turn and watch her now. Lily supposed the flicker in his eyes could be called amusement. She had never seen him laugh, and rarely did he smile, but she was beginning to understand some of his expressions. Or lack of them.

"My father called me something that translates roughly as 'Mighty Quiver.' I never asked him what he was thinking about at the time. My mother called me Luis Philippe, after her father. Do you prefer either of those?"

A grin quirked Lily's mouth. Mighty Quiver. She could just imagine a screaming baby boy being called that. She suspected his father had a sense of humor even if Cade did not. He was definitely not a Luis Philippe. She shook her head in reply.

"Where does Cade come from?"

"The Spanish word for music,
cadenza.
They thought they insulted me, but they were unaware of the other poor names I had to choose from."

Lily didn't want to ask who "they" were or why they would wish to insult him for his love of music. She knew absolutely nothing about this man.

"Cade suits you," she answered decisively.

"And de Suela?" He lifted his eyebrows questioningly. "Or shall I give myself an adult name now? No one will know the difference."

Lily considered this briefly, then shook her head. "I think that is your decision."

"De Suela is an old and respected name. I will stay with it, then."

Lily de Suela. Considering the state of current affairs, a Mexican name wasn't any better than an Indian one, but she wasn't even certain that either belonged to her. Lily supposed if a child came of their night together, she would be glad of a name for it, but she couldn't reconcile herself to the position of wife just yet. She was just now learning to be herself again.

She didn't think Cade was very likely to understand that. The rocking of the horse was a constant reminder of what they had done, but the closer they drew to home, the more her thoughts turned to Roy. She couldn't concentrate on both of them. Roy had been with her for nearly nine years. Cade had barely been around for nine weeks. Roy won.

She was urging Cade's powerful horse faster as the ranch came into sight. It was easier to put everything else out of her mind and let the one love of her life dominate. She needed to see that Roy was well.

Cade let her go. They were on her territory now. In his father's tribe it was customary for women to own the property. He had given all that he had possessed to Lily without reservation. The theory didn't work quite as well in a white man's world, but he had enough respect for Lily to allow her to take the lead. An Apache male was only supposed to see to the protection of his family and provide for them by hunting.

His Spanish heritage was a little more confused but not so very different. He would do his duties outside of the home. Inside the home was her family. He didn't expect acceptance there, but he would have to find some way to demand respect.

As he rode up, Cade noted the strange wagon in the front yard. Painted a bright red and decorated with pictures that apparently had some meaning beyond his comprehension, it bore the bold inscription "Professor Mangolini's Traveling Medicine Show" in gilded letters across the top.

Climbing down from his horse, Cade noted with suspicion Lily's uneasy stance on the front porch. She was speaking in shrill tones unlike her, while glancing nervously at the recipient of her assurances. As Cade came around the wagon and saw the newcomer, he began to understand why.

Professor Mangolini was tall and dark and handsome and smiled at Lily in a way that went beyond casual acquaintance. And he looked just like Roy.

Chapter 14

Lily thought she might be losing her mind. What she had done last night was sufficient to convince her she had lost what remained of her senses, but she couldn't believe that after nine years, she was actually staring at Travis Bolton while her father and the man she had just made love to looked on. She must be hallucinating. Perhaps she could just faint and then wake up and find everything returned to normal.

Lord, but he was even more handsome than she remembered. The years had chiseled Travis's features into maturity. There were a few crows-feet around his eyes perhaps, but they still gleamed with the irrepressible humor that had held her so fascinated when she was sixteen. She couldn't believe she was standing here talking to him after all these years. She wasn't hearing a word he said.

She was thinking of Roy. How would she keep him from Roy? Or had Travis already seen him? Would he have noticed? He'd have to be a fool not to. Of course, Travis hadn't known Jim. Maybe he would think she always fell for tall, dark, curly-haired men with gray eyes. That thought sent Lily's glance back to Cade. She had outdone herself on tall and dark this time, but the thick, straight hair brushing Cade's collar didn't have a lick of curl and his eyes were far from gray. What in hell was she going to do?

"Well, Lily, are you going to introduce me to this gentleman here?” Travis asked with humor. “Your father and I have already introduced ourselves."

She would have liked to have seen that. Trying to keep her stomach from leaping up her throat, Lily gestured toward Cade. "This is Cade, my foreman. Cade, this is Travis Bolton, an old friend from Mississippi."

Salesman that he was, Travis smiled and held out his hand. Cade looked at him, looked at Lily, and with a rather pointed glare at the latter, accepted the other man's hand. Travis winced at the pressure exerted but remained smiling.

Taking this opportunity to escape, Lily murmured a quick excuse and ran into the house. She would think about Roy and worry about the rest later.