Texas Proud (Vincente 2) (25 page)

Her fingers slid into his midnight hair and she
brought his lips to hers. She was drowning and
could not even save herself. Only this moment ex isted, this night, no tomorrow just the touch of
his body, the feel of his hands, the sensuous
mouth that came nearer, touching her lips, featherlike. Then his lips were hot, devouring, glorious,
dragging all resistance away from her.

Caught in a powerful deluge of desire like nothing she could have imagined, Rachel did not protest when Noble began to undress her. Slowly and
expertly he unlaced, unfastened and removed her
garments until she was naked. Strangely, she felt
no shame as he stared at her, his eyes brightened
by passion.

"You are so beautiful."

She felt pleased by his words, and a flame
burned within her as his hot gaze drifted down
her body.

Noble slowly guided her down onto the grass
and lay down beside her. The stars arched across
the sky like a sparkling umbrella, and their reflections glowed in the depths of his dark eyes. The
hot wind blew softly, stirring the fragrant wildflowers and perfuming the air.

"Tell me to stop and I will, Rachel." His voice
was insistent, and she knew he would let her go if
she asked him to.

Her mouth was inches away from his throat.
She turned her head the merest bit and touched
her lips to the throbbing pulse, feeling life flowing
through his body. Heat rose in her and her heart
pounded, pounded to match his pulse. Did he hear
it? She was playing with danger and she knew it.

Noble was like a swirling undertow, like the quicksand that had been drawing her under today. Noble was her peril tonight, perhaps more dangerous
than the quicksand.

For her answer, she raised her arms to him.

Noble uttered a cry as his body sought hers. He
kissed and caressed her, and she wanted to savor
the moment. She thought she would die of longing
when he moved his hand between her legs to
stroke and caress her there. She bit her lip to keep
from crying out at the delicious sensations that
quaked through her body. Why was he torturing
her? she wondered. She pressed forward so she
could get closer to those wonderful hands that
were robbing her strength and awaking her sleeping passion.

"Why do I feel this way with you?" she asked,
needing to know.

"Because we were destined to be together," he
answered simply, his eyes somehow sad. "I knew
this would happen the day you came to my father's grave. You knew it too."

"Yes, I think I did know it then," she admitted.
"Although not consciously." She touched his
cheek, and her fingers drifted into his hair. "I
fought you, Noble, but I lost tonight."

He pressed his rough cheek to hers and whispered, "Neither of us could escape this moment,
Rachel. If ever a woman was created for a man,
you were created for me."

He stood up, and her eyes followed him. She watched him remove his shirt and drop it onto the
ground. His skin was bathed in silver moonlight
as he slipped out of his trousers and stood naked
before her. She had once compared him to one of
the gods of his fountains, but he was more beautiful than any myth. And he was flesh and bloodnot cold stone.

Noble came down to her and she melted against
him. Hard muscles met soft curves, as if they had
been created to fit perfectly together. Warm, liquid sweetness crept through her body.

Yes, he was right; they did belong together. She
had first felt it that day when she was only sixteen
and he'd given her Faro. But at sixteen, it had been
a young, budding love. Now it was explosive
deep and consuming, a woman's love. Her
woman's heart must have known the instant she'd
looked at him through her gun sights the moment she knew she couldn't shoot him.

"I need you so, Rachel," he whispered into her
ear, his breath stirring against her cheek. "You
feel it too."

"Yes," she said at last. "But I didn't want this to
happen."

"Green Eyes, sweet Green Eyes," he murmured
softly, drawing her close to him. "It had to happen.

She was unable to do anything but moan with
pleasure as he touched her in all the right places,
kissing her into final submission.

Rachel had come to him tonight willingly. She wanted to be so close to him that she could feel
every breath he took as if it were her own. He
awoke within her something wild and wonderful,
and as frightening as it was consuming.

Noble pulled her forward, grasped her hips. His
body shook with the effort to take her slowly. With
hard-won restraint he slipped gently inside her.
Her velvet softness closed around him, and he
whispered her name in agony.

He heard her gasp from the stinging pain he
caused her when he stabbed past her virginal barrier. He stopped, holding himself there, allowing
her to become accustomed to the feel of him inside her. Then gently, slowly, he glided forward,
then with the same gentleness he slid back.

Rachel had never imagined that the act of mating could be so wonderful. Her eyes were wide
with wonder as she waited for each new motion.
She felt him inside her as if he were a part of her.
When he slid back, she felt wild excitement
when he lunged forward, it was all she could do
to keep from crying out at the passion that ripped
through her. Her heart furiously thumped against
the wall of her chest. She closed her eyes and
gasped, trying to hold on to reality, but this was
her reality-he was the reason she existed.

When Noble slowly inched deeper inside her, he
measured his thrusts with temperance, introducing her untested body to the pleasures of the flesh.

Rachel bit her trembling lip and groaned. Her nails dug into his back when he moved faster inside her, setting a sensuous tempo.

When Noble was certain that he had not hurt
her, he rested his hands on the small of her back,
guiding and instructing her.

His movements escalated, and Rachel tossed
her head back, arched her hips forward, meeting
each of his powerful thrusts with one of her own.

Their bodies seemed to merge like the moon
and the stars like the wind in the trees-like the
earth and the wide Texas sky. They moved together in silken harmony, blending flesh to flesh,
fusing, heart against heart.

Rachel felt as though every step she had taken
her whole life had been bringing her to this moment-this man.

She bit her lip and cried out as her body
erupted, trembled and erupted again. Noble
stroked her damp hair, kissed her cheek, holding
her tightly in his arms. She felt so much a part of
him that she had the sensation that he was
breathing for both of them.

Long after their torrid lovemaking, they lay silent in each other's arms. There seemed to be no
words to describe what had happened to them.

Noble brushed his lips against her cheek and
then gave her a heart-melting smile. "Green Eyes,
you..." He couldn't find the right words. "I have
never felt this way before."

Rachel touched his face with the tips of her fingers, and her eyes misted because of the beauty of their coming together. She'd been purged of hate
and left with only love, desire need.

Winna Mae had been right; love could be beautiful.

Rachel looked at him quizzically. "What about
the woman you are betrothed to in Spain?"

"That was finished years ago. I wrote her father
and declined the honor of her hand. Since we had
never met, I don't think the lady grieved much.
Probably she was as relieved as I."

"If she had known you, she never would have
let you go." Rachel didn't know what had possessed her to say such a thing to him. She slowly
raised her gaze to his. Warmth emanated from his
velvet-soft brown eyes.

"Say that you will always belong to me," he
urged in a deep tone. And then he closed his eyes
in growing frustration. He had expected to marry
her after tonight, and he had desired her more
than he'd ever desired any woman. But he hadn't
expected to feel so deeply about her. "Say it," he
demanded. "Say you belong to me."

Rachel felt her mind caving in upon her. Sudden awareness of what she'd done made her tremble with self-loathing. Had he made love to her
sister in this same way, impregnated her and then
left her? She turned away from him, wishing she
could run and never stop. Visions of her sister
stood between them like the slicing edge of a
sword. She sat up and dropped her head in her hands. She was no different from her sister, after
all.

Noble watched her with a bewildered expression. "What's wrong, Rachel?" His hand went to
her stomach. "Did I hurt you, Green Eyes?"

Her voice came out like a gunshot. "Tell me
about you and my sister."

His lips thinned and he took on the expression
of a man marshaling his patience. His hand
dropped away from her, and she could feel him
stiffen and emotionally pull away from her.

Escalating frustration sharpened his tone. "You
haven't spoken to Delia about me, have you?"

"I don't have to. I already know what happened
between the two of you." She glanced into his
eyes, feeling guilt settle on her like a swirling black
fog. "If there was nothing between you and her,
you would have said so long before now."

"Ask your sister," he said coldly.

She rested her folded arms on her knees and
gazed at the river. "I don't know. I'm so confused."

"Are you blaming me for what happened between us tonight, Rachel?" He took in a deep
breath. "I shouldn't have rushed you. I should
have waited until-"

"No," she said, turning to him, her long hair
swirling about her face. "I came to you of my own
free will, and I'm not sorry." She hung her head.
"Even the thought of you and Delia together didn't
stop me. But now my sister is all I can think
about."

"Only Delia can give you the answers you seek,"
he said, feeling somehow betrayed by her lack of
trust.

"Delia wouldn't have lied to my father."

"And yet you believe that I'd get a woman with
child and desert her? Don't do this to us, Rachel.
I'm asking you to trust me."

She stood up, and silvery moonlight caressed
her naked body. "Give me time, Noble."

He stood beside her, turning her toward his
arms. "Have I done wrong in taking your innocence, Rachel?" He looked at her carefully when
he said, "You could marry me."

In spite of her resolve not to let him touch her,
she snuggled against his broad chest, and his arms
surrounded her. He tilted her chin and kissed her
tenderly, his hands running up and down her back
and then settling her against him.

Suddenly she broke away from him and stepped
back. "I can't be your wife, Noble." The words
were ripped from her throat. "And you don't really
want me. You only want to make amends through
me for what you did to Delia."

His voice was soft with regret, his gaze so powerful that she had to dig in her heels to keep from
going to him. "Is that what you really think of
me?"

Convulsive sobs built in her throat. She had to
get away before she broke down completely. "You
have never denied that you fathered Delia's child."

"I asked you to trust me. I have asked you re peatedly to speak to your sister about what happened."

She shook her head. "I have to go now."

He pulled her to him again; his arms tightened
about her and he rested his chin on the top of her
head. "I will be waiting for you."

She looked up at him, his handsome face half
in shadows, but she still saw the expression of
pain and sadness. "We can never meet like this
again, Noble."

He put her away from him and leaned back. He
stared up at the stars, drawing a slow, deep
breath. "Not even if I promise to keep my hands
off you?" He turned to look at her. "If you will just
let me talk to you sometimes, I promise not to
touch you."

"No. I can t."

With a smothered oath, he glared at her. "Dammit, Rachel, how can I make you understand?" He
paused, groping for words. "Tonight was a mistake; I admit that. I blame myself because I
wanted you. I should have exercised more restraint."

Rachel felt as if someone had thrown a dash of
cold water in her face. Pain pulsed right where her
heart was located. "I understand more than you
think I do, Noble."

"No, Green Eyes, you don't. As long as your sister stands between us, I have no right to..." His
voice trailed off.

He had physically distanced himself from her, and had turned off his emotions as one would
snuff out a candle. Had Delia once felt this same
coldness in him?

She fought against the tears that burned at the
back of her eyelids. She wiped her cheek, hoping
Noble hadn't noticed. "I must be going." She
quickly dressed, knowing that he was doing the
same.

At last he stood before her, close but not touching, anguish etched on his handsome features.
"Rachel, if you ever need anything, promise that
you'll come to me."

He was dismissing her, sending her away. But
it was her fault. She was the one who kept seeing
her sister in his arms. "Good-bye, Noble."

"There is no good-bye between us, Rachel. I will
wait for you to come to me."

"Then you will wait a very long time."

"I know you will never come here again. I'll wait
for the day you come to me at Casa del Sol."

She turned away, not understanding what he
meant. She mounted her horse and rode across
the river. The Brazos separated their two lands
like the emotional gulf that stood between them.

Would she ever be able to cross it again?

That night Rachel was haunted by nightmares.
She dreamed that she was running toward Noble
and he scooped her into his arms. She was kissing
him; he was touching her. But then her face
turned into Delia's and she moaned in pain.

"No, no."

She sat up in bed, her body trembling, feeling
empty inside. She pulled up her knees and rested
her head on them, wishing her heart would stop
pounding. Sudden realization hit her, ripped
through her, leaving her stunned. She loved Noble
much more than she'd ever hated him. But it was
a one-sided love, all on her part. What did he want
from her? she wondered. He certainly didn't want
her love, or perhaps he did. For some reason
known only to him, he probably needed her forgiveness.