The Outlaws: Rafe (29 page)

Glancing at Rafe, she saw that he was still sleeping soundly.
 
He was turned away from her, only the left side of his face visible.
 
His brow was smooth, as if he hadn't a care in the world, and the dark lashes that lay against his cheek were indecently long and lush.
 
Abruptly he turned, exposing the right side of his face.
 
A startled cry burst from her throat when she saw the bloody streak angling downward from the corner of his eye to his earlobe.

The sound must have startled Rafe awake for he leaped to his feet and reached for his gun.
 
"What is it?
 
Have the Indians discovered our hiding place?"

"Your face!
 
What did he do to you?"

"Oh, that," Rafe said, shrugging.
 
"It's nothing serious."

"You'll have that scar for life.
 
Let me take care of it for you."

"Don't fuss, Angel.
 
I can handle it.
 
Right now there are more important things to take care of.
 
My stomach is touching my backbone.
 
I'll fix us something to eat."

"Where are we?"

"Hidden well within a formation of rocks.
 
It was the best I could do under the circumstances.
 
You couldn't have ridden much farther.
 
Sit still while I get us something to eat.
 
It will have to be trail food, I don't think a fire is safe yet."

"Let me help," Angela said, rising.
 
She soon learned that attempting to stand was a big mistake.
 
The soles of her feet were too tender to bear her weight.
 
She gave a pained groan and fell back onto her rump.

"I told you to sit still," Rafe said, clearly exasperated.
 
"One day you'll learn to do as I say."

"I doubt that," Angela sniffed.
 
"Wet a cloth and bring it here so I can clean the blood from your face.
 
I refuse to eat until I see to your injury."

Rafe glared at her a moment, then shrugged.
 
"Very well."

He found a washcloth in his saddlebags and saturated it with water from his canteen.
 
Then he handed it to Angela and sat down beside her.
 
"Do your worst, woman."

Angela carefully dabbed at the cut, washing away blood and dirt.
 
When she finished she leaned back and studied her handiwork.
 
Though the cut wasn't deep it would definitely leave a scar, Angela thought.
 
But rather than detract from his handsome features, it added a sense of mystery to his rugged appeal.

"Do you have something I can put on it to aid the healing?" she asked.

"How about some of the same salve I put on your feet?" Rafe asked.
 
Angela nodded.
 
"I'll get it," he said, rising.

"I should put a stitch or two in it before I apply the salve," Angela said when Rafe returned.

He reared back, feigning shock.
 
"I don't want you anywhere near me with a needle, lady.
 
I'll learn to live with the scar."

"It's not all that unattractive," Angela ventured.

Rafe gave a snort of laughter.
 
"If you're trying to beguile me it's not going to work.
 
I'm damn angry at you for disobeying me.
 
In the first place, you ventured too far from our campsite for your bath.
 
You're lucky I came looking for you when I did."

"I wanted privacy," Angela said defensively.
 
"I had no idea there were Indians in the area."

Rafe sent her a mocking grin.
 
"Privacy?
 
I've seen everything you have to offer, Angel."

 
He touched her cheek.
 
Angel sucked in a shaky sigh as his fingers wandered downward along the side of her face.
 
They grazed her neck; he stared into her eyes and cupped her breast.
 
Watching her expression, he gently kneaded the firm mound, smiling to himself when her eyes closed and a soft moan tumbled from her lips.
 
She wasn't as immune to him as she pretended.

 
God, he wanted her.
 
It had been too damn long since he'd experienced the sweet thrill of loving his Angel.
 
Bending close, he kissed her closed eyes and soft, trembling lips, drawing on them until he elicited another sigh from her.

"Let me love you, Angel."

She glanced up at him, her expression troubled.
 
His face was tense, his silver eyes a translucent window to the hunger and longing behind them.
 
Mesmerized by his steady gaze, she felt powerless to resist.

His breathing sounded ragged.
 
Her own breathing was just as frazzled and she tried unsuccessfully to bring it under control.
 
She was aware that he was leaning closer, so close she could feel the heat radiating off his body.

Though she knew she might regret it later, she had no will where Rafe was concerned.
 
No protest was forthcoming when he lowered her to the bedroll and leaned over her.
 
She breathed deeply, savoring his musky scent as their breaths mingled.
 
His hands found her breasts, his mouth covered hers.
 
With a breathy little moan she arched shamelessly into the hot, wet suction of his kiss.
 
She eagerly accepted his tongue, relishing his taste as he boldly explored her mouth.

"I want you naked," Rafe whispered against her lips.

He undressed her quickly, tearing her shift in his haste to remove every stitch of her clothing.
 
She squirmed impatiently as he sat back on his haunches and stared at her.

"You're body is perfection," he murmured.
 
"There's nothing about you I don't admire.
 
Someday I hope to hear your lovely voice raised in song as you rock our babes to sleep."

Angel went still.
 
Did Rafe realize what he'd just said?
 
"Are you saying you want us to stay married?
 
To live together as husband and wife?
 
How are you going to arrange that with the law after you?"

"I'll find a way.
 
Help me," he whispered raggedly, fumbling with the fastenings on his shirt.

Moments later he was as naked as she.
 
Angela's gaze slid over him with appreciation.
 
His broad shoulders and massive chest blocked out the sun.
 
His hips were lean, his legs long and sleekly muscled.
 
Her eyes dropped to his sex.
 
It was distended and rigid, the tip purplish blue and throbbing.

Rafe noted the direction of her gaze and smiled.
 
"Touch me."

A tentative fingertip trailed slowly from the engorged crown clear to the root of him, then back along the ridged underside.
 
He groaned, thrusting his hips forward, as if begging for more.
 
Angela complied, encircling him with her fingers, holding him firmly within her palm.

 
He gritted his teeth against the jolt of raw pleasure that surged through him.
 
His breath came harsh and labored.
 
There was a primitive pounding in his head.
 
His blood boiled in his veins.
 
Desire churned through him.
 
His shaft swelled, thickened, grew harder and fuller.
 
Battered by furious need, he pumped his hips, moving faster and faster within her hand, until he was forced to exert his willpower or end this too soon.

"Enough," he growled, removing her hand from his rigid member.
 
"I want this to last as long as possible."

Leaning forward, he took a puckered nipple into his mouth and suckled her.
 
Moving from breast to breast, he sucked, nipped and laved, until Angela was drowning in an turbulent sea of pleasure/pain.
 
His knuckles brushed the hollow of her belly.
 
His fingers grazed the silken fleece between her thighs, tracing her moist cleft.

Flailing her head from side to side, Angela stifled a cry when his bold fingers explored deep inside her.
 
She was trembling from head to toe; molten fire spread along her nerve-endings.
 
When he bent his head and touched the taut little bud at the entrance of her sex with the tip of his tongue, mind-numbing pleasure shot through her.

"Rafe!
 
Please.
 
Come inside me.
 
Now."

Ignoring her, his tongue played havoc with her senses as he explored her thoroughly.
 
Just when Angela thought she would shatter from the pressure building inside her, he parted her wide with his knees and nudged her entrance with the velvet tip of his shaft.
 
His hands slid beneath her buttocks, lifting her high.
 
Then he thrust deep.
 
She felt the scalding length of him clear to the gates of her womb.

A cry ripped from her throat and she clutched at his shoulders, her nails biting deep into his skin.
 
She rose up eagerly to meet the wild pounding of his hips.
 
Sweat dripped from his forehead onto hers, but it failed to register.
 
Nothing mattered but the desperate need to reach that distant pinnacle.
 
Then abruptly she was there, drenched in profound bliss as she exploded around him.

Rafe heard Angel's cry, felt her contract around him, and his blood surged thick and molten.
 
The feel of her sheath tightening around his engorged shaft destroyed what little control he had left.
 
Bowing to the frenzied demands of his body, he plunged inside her silken heat, imbedding himself deep, his passion soaring, inciting him toward a rapturous release.
 
He felt her pulsating around him as he gave up his seed.

 
Rafe waited until his heartbeat settled to a steady roar before he pulled out and rolled to his side.
 
His eyes closed and he drifted off.

Eons later, or it could have been only moments, Rafe felt something brush against his face.
 
Startled awake, he opened his eyes, smiling when he saw Angel leaning over him, her fingers gently tracing his scar.
 
A jolt of tenderness passed through him when she placed a gentle kiss where her fingers had been only moments before.

"It's my fault you were wounded, Rafe.
 
You were right.
 
I shouldn't have strayed so far from camp."

"Forget it, love.
 
At least I no longer have to worry that you'll bolt.
 
I doubt you'll try to return to the Golden Angel now that you realize the danger involved."

"I suppose you're right," Angela agreed sweetly.
 
Too sweetly for Rafe's peace of mind.

Rafe searched her face.
 
"I don't like that look, Angel.
 
What are you planning?"

"I know better than to return on my own, but you can't stop me from trying to convince you to take me back.
 
We're not so far away that turning back is no longer an option.
 
Anson could steal me blind during my absence.
 
He might even construe my disappearance as license to take over the mine in my stepfather's name."

A predatory gleam lit the centers of Rafe's silver eyes.
 
"Hmmm, you've got me curious.
 
I'm sure I'll enjoy your brand of persuasion if it requires more of what we just shared."
 
He pulled her down on top of him.
 
"Go ahead, sweetheart, do your worst.
 
I can hardly wait."

Rafe and Angela approached Pueblo the following morning just as the stores were opening for the day.
 
Angela felt wonderfully alive after a night of nearly nonstop lovemaking.
 
She and Rafe had made love, then napped briefly, only to awaken and turn to one another again in the night, until darkness gave way to a glorious dawn.

"I thought you wanted to avoid towns," Angela said when Rafe turned down the main thoroughfare.

He reined in, waited for her to come abreast, then plucked his hat from her head and settled it on his own.
 
"You need a hat.
 
I'll wait outside the general store while you go inside and purchase something to your liking.
 
Buy a sack of coffee, we're almost out, and anything else you think we might need.
 
I'd like this to be the last town we visit until Dodge City.

Angela glanced furtively down the street.
 
Vendors and early shoppers were just beginning to stir.
 
"What if you're recognized?"