The Outlaws: Rafe (18 page)

Baxter's eyes narrowed as he considered this latest complication in his plan to obtain sole ownership of the mine.
 
If Angela wasn't married to Gentry, and she had no intention of marrying Chandler, then the field was free for him to step in and claim both Angela and the mine.

He wasn't such a bad looking fellow.
 
And he could be charming when the occasion warranted.
 
Perhaps all wasn't lost after all.
 
By ingratiating himself to Angela he could gain everything his heart desired.
 
Sole ownership of the mine and a nice little bundle of femininity in his bed as a bonus.

"You heard the little lady, boys.
 
Neither Angela nor I want you on our property.
 
If you value your lives, get the hell out of here before I fill your carcasses with buckshot.
 
And you'd better not be dragging the preacher up here, either."

"Very well, Baxter, we're leaving," Dexter said, "but we'll be back.
 
You don't scare us.
 
As Angela's guardian, I have every right to see that she marries a man I approve of."

Angela breathed a sigh of relief when Chandler and Dexter finally rode off.
 
She glanced at Baxter and was surprised to see him looking at her with a strange light in his eyes.

"Is it true you were never legally married to Rafe Gentry?"

"No, that's not true," Angela contended.
 
"Reverend Conrad married us in Ordway."

"Where is the Reverend now?"

"Dead at the hands of renegade Indians."

"Do you have a marriage paper to prove you were married?"

Angela glanced down, where tiny bits of paper littered the ground.

Baxter stooped, picked up several jagged pieces and let them fall through his fingers.
 
"Did Dexter do this?"
 
Angela nodded.
 
"Is this all that's left?"

Angela refused to acknowledge his question.
 
It was none of his business.
 
"I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me.
 
This has all been too much."

"By all means.
 
I imagine learning the man you thought you married is an outlaw has been a shock.
 
You're all alone now, Angela.
 
I know your father would want me to look after you.
 
If you don't want to marry that Chandler fellow you don't have to.
 
You have other options," he said with sly innuendo.
 
Then he turned and strode away.

Angela stared at his departing back, wondering what in the world he meant.
 
Surely he didn't think...no, he couldn't mean that he...that she...ridiculous.
 
Baxter and Chandler were cut from the same cloth, as far as she was concerned.
 
Turning back into the house, she began preparations for a meal, a meal that Rafe wouldn't be here to share.

Crouched behind a bush above the mine, Rafe watched Dexter tear up their marriage paper, or what he assumed was their marriage document.
 
He was too far away to hear their words but he knew Dexter said something to upset Angela.
 
He'd like to strangle the bastard.
 
Then Baxter and the posse had arrived and Rafe briefly contemplated riding away from the whole damn mess and not look back.
 
But his conscience wouldn't let him.
 
When the posse began searching the area for him, Rafe moved himself and his horse into a cave he discovered on the mountainside above the mine.

Hours passed.
 
Rafe walked to the entrance of the cave and peered out into the darkness.
 
Nothing stirred.
 
He crept out onto the ledge above the mine entrance and looked down upon the cabin where Angel slept.
 
How could he leave her when she needed him?
 
How could he not?
 
His very existence was threatened.
 
Should he be caught before he could prove his innocence he'd surely hang.
 
There was only one thing to do.
 
Try to convince Angel to come with him.
 
Together they could flee to a place where no one knew him.

One question remained.
 
Did Angel care enough about him to abandon her father's legacy?

Determination hardened Rafe's features.
 
Good or bad, he had come to a decision.
 
Cautiously he made his way down the mountainside, until he reached level ground.
 
Skirting Baxter's cabin, he crept to Angel's cabin.
 
A thin sliver of moon provided just enough light to guide him as he climbed the front steps and tried the knob.
 
Locked.
 
Remaining deep within the shadows, he made his way around to the rear and tried the back door.
 
Locked.

Then he noticed that the bedroom window was raised slightly.
 
It took little effort to widen the gap and slip inside.
 
He glanced about the moon drenched room and saw Angel stretched out on the bed, her curvy form lightly covered with a sheet.
 
A halo of bright hair floated about her face and lay like spun gold upon the pillow.
 
Rafe had the unaccountable urge to push it from her forehead and place a kiss there.

Instead, he crouched down beside the bed and simply stared at her, resisting the urge to touch her.
 
He leaned closer as she stirred and murmured something in her sleep.

Angela's dreams had just taken an erotic turn.
 
She'd been dreaming of Rafe, of course.
 
It wasn't a particularly pleasant dream for in it he was running from the law.
 
He seemed to know she was watching him for every so often he'd glance back over his shoulder and send her an anguished look, as if trying to convey something of great import to her.

Then suddenly the dream took a subtle turn.
 
Rafe was no longer running; the posse was gone and he was in the cabin, inside her bedroom.
 
The dream was so vivid she could feel his soft breath upon her cheek.
 
Her skin tingled, as if he had touched her.
 
It took but a brief moment for Angela to realize she was awake, that she hadn't imagined Rafe's presence.

She opened her eyes.
 
His name tumbled from her lips.
 
"Rafe..."

"I'm here, Angel."

"What?
 
How?"

"I didn't go far.
 
I'm holed up in a cave above the mine."

"What are you doing here?
 
There's a posse looking for you."

"I know.
 
I watched from the ledge above the mine, though I couldn't hear what was being said.
 
What did Dexter say to make you angry?
 
Was that our marriage paper he tore into shreds?
 
What made him do that?
 
Reverend Conrad can easily verify the legality of our marriage."

"No he can't," Angela revealed.
 
"Reverend Conrad and Sister Grace are both dead, killed by renegade Indians.
 
Their wagon and all their possessions are gone.
 
No record of our marriage exists."

"I'm sorry about the reverend and his wife.
 
I know how fond you were of them."

He shifted to the bed and took her into his arms.
 
"Fate hasn't been kind to you, has it, Angel?"

"Nor to you," Angela whispered.
 
"You shouldn't be here."

"This is where I want to be," he murmured scant moments before his mouth claimed hers.

Angela moaned her pleasure into his mouth.
 
When Rafe rode away she'd been so sure she'd never see him again.
 
And now here he was, his body pressed against hers, his mouth writing love words against her lips.
 
Oh how she wished he hadn't returned.
 
Didn't he realize the danger he was placing himself in?

Suddenly her mind grasped at something and wouldn't let go.
 
Had Rafe returned in order to try to clear his name?
 
Was he taking her advice about the futility of running?
 
Then her thoughts scattered as Rafe worked her nightgown past her hips, and over her head.

"I came to you tonight to ask something of you but it will have to wait."
 
He lowered his head and kissed her nipples.
 
"I want you, Angel.
 
Nothing will ever change that."

Angela swallowed past the lump in her throat.
 
She wanted Rafe every bit as badly as he seemed to want her.
 
Even though the tiniest doubt remained.
 
Even though he might be an outlaw.
 
Was he really as innocent as he claimed?
 
Would she ever know for sure?

"Perhaps you should ask me your question first," Angela suggested.

He let out a long, slow breath.
 
"No, I need to make love to you first."

He placed one hand on her sex.
 
She pulsed gently against him, her flesh already swollen with desire.
 
He could feel the small bud straining against the pad of his thumb and he rubbed it gently.
 
His breath came hard and labored.
 
There was a primitive pounding in his head.
 
His blood was boiling.
 
His shaft swelled thick and hard, straining to be free.
 
He fumbled with the buttons of his trousers, freeing himself into his palm.
 
He parted her thighs with his knee, thumbed her open, he bent his head, and kissed her in a very needy, very tender place.

She sobbed his name.
 
He smiled.
 
His fingers replaced his mouth, easing deep inside.
 
Her wetness scalded him; he could wait no longer.
 
He slid into her velvety folds.
 
Her core contracted around him as he teased a ragged moan from her throat.
 
His senses soared when she gave a breathy little sigh and arched wantonly against him, forcing him deeper.

Wanting to give her the ultimate in pleasure, he lightly bit her nipples, then soothed them with the wet roughness of his tongue.
 
He felt her trembling and his own passions soared.
 
No woman had ever affected him like his Angel.

She made a breathy little gurgle in her throat that sounded like a plea.
 
Spurred by her need, Rafe pumped his hips, reaching deep into her core, to the very gates of her womb.
 
She clutched his shoulders, her nails biting deep.
 
His blood surged hot and molten.
 
The feel of her melting heat clamping around his thickened manhood shattered what little control he had left.
 
Gritting his teeth, he held on until he heard Angel scream out his name and go limp beneath him.

Even after her climax waned he could feel tiny tremors squeezing him.
 
He waited until she quieted in his arms, then finally gave himself permission to seek his own pleasure.
 
He plunged deep, imbedding himself fully, his passion unchecked.
 
Then everything inside him exploded.
 
Wave after wave of incredible ecstasy washed over him, and he cried his pleasure against her mouth.
 
He shuddered, then collapsed against her.

Several long minutes passed before Rafe lifted his weight away from Angela and settled at her side.
 
His heart was pumping furiously and his breath pushed from his lungs in short, tortured gasps.
 
He glanced over at Angel to see if she was similarly affected.
 
Her face appeared almost waxen in the sliver of moonlight shining through the window.
 
He shifted to his elbow and stared down at her, concern worrying his brow.

"Angel, sweetheart, are you all right?
 
Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine."
 
Silence stretched between them.
 
Then she said, "Why did you come back?"

"I couldn't leave you alone to be manipulated by Dexter, Chandler and Baxter.
 
Not one of them have your best interests at heart."

"And you do?"

"I like to think so.
 
Have you any idea what they're planning for you?"

"My stepfather says he's returning tomorrow with a preacher.
 
He's determined to marry me to Anson.
 
I'm not sure what Brady Baxter intends.
 
He's awfully congenial all of a sudden.
 
He promised to do everything in his power to keep Desmond and Anson from forcing their will on me.
 
I don't trust him any more than I do the other two."

"And rightly so.
 
I have a proposition for you, Angel.
 
I can't leave you here by yourself and I can't stick around to protect you.
 
What I propose is...I want you to come with me."