The Outlaws: Rafe (41 page)

Rafe wanted to reach out to her as she struggled for composure and had to forcibly restrain himself from telling her he loved her.
 
She probably wouldn't believe him in her present state of mind, anyway.

"Oh, what's the use," she sighed.
 
The note of despondency in her voice nearly broke Rafe's heart.

"Angel, listen to me, love.
 
I know what you want to hear but I can't say the words until I'm a free man.
 
You'll just have to be patient and trust me until that happens."

"Like I trusted you in the past?"

"I know I'm asking a lot of you but I'm still a wanted man.
 
I can't even offer you my good name."

"I already have your name," Angela reminded him.
 
"But I expect to change that soon."

The violent sound he made was born of pain.
 
"Dammit, Angel, I don't want you to divorce."

"Exactly what do you want, Rafe?"

"I thought I made myself clear.
 
I want
you
.
 
I'm determined to find Baxter's killer, and when I do, I'll be free to tell you what's in my heart."

She gave him a disgusted look.
 
"Until then I'm supposed to guess how you feel."

He sent her a look fraught with all the demons ripping him apart.
 
"I'm asking you to trust me, Angel.
 
I have to leave soon.
 
No one must know I'm here."

A slow building of trust moved Angela to offer a smidgen of hope.
 
"Have you a plan?"

"Not yet, but I haven't given up."

"Let me help."

Rafe reared up on his elbow.
 
"Absolutely not!
 
We're dealing with two greedy, vicious men, you could be hurt."

Her blue eyes glittered defiantly.
 
"You have no choice."
 
Even if you hadn't returned I would have pursued this on my own.
 
I overheard Anson all but admit to Desmond that he killed Baxter.
 
I have an idea but it needs more thought."

"Think all you want, sweetheart, I simply won't allow you to become involved.
 
It's too dangerous."

Angela decided to change the subject.
 
Arguing with Rafe was getting her nowhere.
 
"Are you hungry?"

His stomach growled at the mere mention of food.
 
"Starved.
 
I've existed on the sparse leavings in my saddlebags and whatever game I was lucky enough to bag."

Angela rose from bed and pulled on a dressing gown.
 
"I'll fix you something to eat.
 
Then I'll pack up whatever I have on hand for you to take with you.
 
What about blankets?
 
You're staying in the cave, aren't you?"
 
He nodded.
 
"That can't be too comfortable."

"I'll manage."

Angela hurried to the kitchen and lit a lamp.
 
By the time Rafe had dressed and joined her, she had built up the fire in the cookstove, sliced bacon, and set the coffeepot on the burner to boil.

"It will be light soon," Rafe said, glancing out the window.

"This won't take long."

"Angel, I meant it when I said you're to keep out of trouble," Rafe said as Angela cracked eggs in the frying pan and cut thick slices of bread from the new loaf she had baked just that morning.

"You asked me to trust you, Rafe, now it's your turn to trust me."

She set the plate before him and he dug in with gusto.
 
Angela couldn't help smiling at his healthy appetite.
 
While he ate, she placed a loaf of bread, some canned goods, the rest of the slab of bacon, potatoes and whatever else she thought he could use into a pile on the table.
 
She left the room and returned with two thick blankets and placed them beside the food.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" Rafe asked between mouthfuls.

"It means I'm thinking about it," Angela said, not giving an inch.
 
She'd been hurt once too often by this powerfully seductive man.

"I have to go," Rafe said, pushing away his empty plate.
 
He glanced at the supplies Angela had readied, then back at Angela.
 
"How am I supposed to carry all this?"

"In this," Angela said, shaking out the linen pillowcase she had brought with her from the bedroom.

When the pillowcase was filled, Rafe placed it on the table and pulled Angela against him.
 
"I'll be back, Angel."
 
His eyes had darkened with desperate yearning but his humor was still intact as he said, "It would help if you didn't lock the back door.
 
I'm getting too old to climb through windows."

"You say you'll return, Rafe, but I don't know what to believe any more."

"Believe this," Rafe said as his lips settled possessively over hers.
 
His mouth was warm; he tasted of coffee and Rafe.
 
She leaned into him, savoring his unique scent, painfully aware of how easily Rafe had seduced her into trusting him.

He broke off the kiss.
 
"If I don't leave now I'll never leave," he groaned against her lips.
 
"I have a killer to smoke out into the open and taking you back to bed isn't the way to do it.
 
Promise you'll stay out of trouble while I find a solution to our problem."

Angela gave him an innocent stare.
 
"Rafe Gentry, I never get into trouble.
 
Getting people, namely you, out of trouble is what I do best."

"I know, sweetheart, you're my guardian angel," he said with such tenderness it brought tears to Angela's eyes.
 
"But this time you're out of your league with Dexter and Chandler.
 
Let me do this my way."

"Of course," Angela said, crossing her fingers behind her.
 
She pushed him toward the door.
 
"The sun is coming up over the mountains.
 
Hurry, before someone sees you."

"One more thing," Rafe said.
 
"Forget that divorce.
 
I'm not letting you go, Angel."

Wanting desperately to believe him, Angela blinked back tears as Rafe grabbed the sack of supplies, gave her a hard kiss, and slipped out the door.
 
She watched from the window as purple shadows swallowed him and he became one with the wooded hillside.

Turning away, Angela poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table to ponder the ramifications of Rafe's unexpected return.
 
Could she trust him this time? she wondered.
 
Had Desmond truly forced him to leave Dodge City without her?

It all made sense when she thought about it.
 
Neither Rafe nor Desmond had known yet that he was no longer wanted for murder in Ordway.
 
Had Desmond shown Sheriff Jenkins the wanted poster Rafe would have found himself behind bars again.
 
Given the choice of fleeing or possibly swinging from the end of a rope, Angela would have chosen the same route Rafe had taken.
 
And Rafe had returned to explain, hadn't he?

Not only had Rafe returned but he'd made love to her as if he truly loved her.
 
He'd done everything but say the words to show her how much he cared.
 
Deep inside Angela believed those words would come when Rafe no longer felt pressured by unfortunate circumstances.
 
The Rafe she knew wasn't a killer, nor was he an outlaw.
 
He was a man unjustly accused of crimes he hadn't committed.

Whether she liked it or not, helping Rafe seemed to be her purpose in life.
 
The reason God had placed her on earth and put Rafe in her path.
 
The Golden Angel had been but a convenient excuse for her to travel West and meet the man created specifically for her.

Rafe Gentry was exasperating, hardheaded, possessive and stubborn.
 
Angela wouldn't have him any other way.
 
Even when she thought she hated him she loved him.

No matter what Rafe Gentry said, she was going to help him find Baxter's killer.
 
She was in a far better position to help him than he was to help himself.
 
Besides, she already had a plan in mind and intended to see it through.

Angela went about her daily chores.
 
No snow had fallen yet so the miners were still at work.
 
Angela found little opportunity to speak to Dexter alone and bided her time.
 
Meanwhile she kept her eyes and ears open.

That evening she left a plate of food sitting in the warming oven, unlatched the back door and waited up for Rafe.
 
He came just after midnight.
 
She took him into the kitchen, poured him a cup of coffee and watched him wolf down the food she had prepared earlier.
 
When he finished, he grasped her hand and led her into the bedroom.

What followed next was a repeat of the night before, only their coupling wasn't as urgent as it had been the previous night.
 
This time Rafe made a leisurely assault upon her senses, arousing her like a lover who had all the time in the world.
 
First he undressed her, exploring her body with a thoroughness that brought tears to her eyes.
 
Her breasts, her nipples, the tender insides of her thighs, the moist cleft and sensitive nubbin at the entrance of her sex.
 
Then he pushed his tongue inside her, bringing her to gasping completion.

 
When he would have entered her, Angela turned the aggressor, pushing him back against the mattress and plundering him with her mouth and hands.
 
She felt his broad chest quiver as she licked his flat, brown nipples, felt his stomach clench as she nipped and kissed a path to that thick, hardened part of him that gave her so much pleasure.

He nearly shot out of bed when her mouth closed around the head and drew on him.
 
His hands tangled in her hair, holding her against him as her eager tongue licked down the ridged underside and back again.

"No more!
 
You're driving me mad."

With a thick, guttural growl he grasped her shoulders,

hauled her up on top of him, spread her legs and thrust himself into her core.
 
Shaking and whimpering his name, she came almost immediately; he found his own rapture scant seconds later.

Afterward they slept.
 
They awoke before daybreak and made love a second time before Rafe left her sleeping and crept back to his lair.

Angela awoke the following morning more determined than ever to bring Chandler to justice for Baxter's murder.
 
It wasn't right that Rafe should fear to show in face in the light of day.
 
If she ever expected to share a future with Rafe, something had to be done, and fast.
 
Angela knew intuitively that Anson would never admit the truth about Baxter's murder to her.
 
But she was almost certain he had told Desmond.
 
Desmond was a greedy man.
 
Therefore, it stood to reason that Desmond could be bribed to betray Chandler's confidence for enough money.

As if her thoughts of Chandler had conjured him up, he showed up at her cottage a short time later.

"It's time to close down the mine for the winter, Angela," Chandler said as he walked into the cabin and made himself at home.
 
"It's October.
 
The miners fear they'll get caught in an unexpected snowstorm and be unable to return to their families."

"They're probably right," Angela agreed.
 
"They know this country better than either you or I.
 
Inform the men that today will be their last day until spring thaw.
 
I'll prepare their paychecks."

 
Chandler had no sooner left to inform the men about the mine closing when Lawyer Goodman arrived with the divorce papers for Angela to sign.

"You should move to town," Goodman said after greeting Angela warmly.
 
"Colorado winters are harsh, especially up here in the mountains."

"I know," Angela agreed.
 
"I remember a little about them from my youth.
 
That's one of the reasons Mama divorced Papa.
 
She hated the isolation.
 
But I'm not Mama.
 
I'll manage.
 
Come into the kitchen and share my lunch.
 
I just made some fresh coffee."

"Coffee and lunch would be welcome," Goodman said.
 
"How are things going, Angela?
 
Is your stepfather or Chandler causing trouble for you?"

"Anson is still determined to marry me but Desmond is behaving for now.
 
They both depend upon my goodwill for their livelihood."