Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) (107 page)

Chapter 21

Jana woke early the next morning to the mournful calls of loons on the lake. Out of habit, she reached for Dan, but she only clutched at emptiness beside her. She propped her upper body on her elbows, and squinted the sleep from her eyes. A thick layer of fog hovered over the lake and foliage around the shore. Dan crouched by the burned-out campfire, poking at the coals with a stick. He added kindling, and with each breath of air he blew on the coals, red and orange embers lit up, until finally the kindling ignited in a sudden poof of orange light. The resulting flames licked eagerly at the twigs and grasses, and Dan added larger pieces of wood until a sizeable fire crackled where a moment ago only black coals remained from the previous night. 

Jana sat up fully, and Dan raised his head in her direction, a slow smile forming on his face. The warm look of love in his eyes sent her heart fluttering. How many times in the past had she heard proclamations of love from other guys she’d dated? Not once had those words sounded sincere, until now. She’d never even said
I love you
to a man before, but there was no doubt in her mind when it came to Dan.

Jana inhaled a deep breath of crisp mountain air, the cold rush shooting into her sinuses making her eyes water. She squeezed the top of her nose, and took in another breath through her mouth.

“You okay?” Dan left his spot by the fire and came to kneel beside her. He ran his hand over her hair, smoothing it down and away from her face, and gently gripped her shoulder. She glanced up at him, and noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

“I think I’m feeling better than you are,” she said. “You didn’t sleep last night, did you?”

Dan’s jaw clenched. His fingers tightened on her shoulder just before he released her.

“You’re still worried about that trapper,” she guessed. “Do you think he’ll bother us?”

“I don’t know,” Dan answered, an edge to his voice, and stood. He ran his hand through his hair. “I never thought I’d be this unprepared to come here. There’s so much I didn’t think about.” His voice was filled with anger. He turned his back to her, and kicked at a stick in the dirt.

Jana pushed herself off the ground, and came up behind him. She brought her own hand up to his shoulder. The muscles beneath his shirt bunched rock hard and unyielding under her touch. The tension in his body only seemed to mount. Dan scoffed, and turned his head to look at her.

“Guess I’m not very good at thinking things through, am I?” The self-loathing in his voice sent a chill racing up her spine.

“What are you talking about?” Jana asked softly, and stepped in front of him. She reached for his hands. His fingers wrapped around hers, almost painfully.  His grip was made of iron.

“If I hadn’t agreed to Hastings’ offer, if I had only used common sense instead of letting my own selfish wants get the better of me, we wouldn’t be here right now. My ancestors’ lives wouldn’t be at risk, and neither would yours. Jana, if anything happens to you . . .” He let the words die off, and pulled her into a fierce embrace.

Jana wrapped her arms around his back, and gave him the time he needed to sort through the thoughts in his head. She was well aware of the harsh reality of their situation. By sheer luck, they hadn’t had a confrontation with a grizzly, a terrifying thought even if they did have the bear spray. Dan had nearly died several days ago from a fluke infection.  Luckily those Indians they had encountered were friendly. How much longer could their luck hold out? That trapper yesterday had been fully armed. He could have shot Dan on the spot. The thought made her shudder.

Dan gripped her upper arms. “I’ll die before I let anyone hurt you,” he said into her hair. The raw passion mixed with anguish in his voice was unmistakable. He leaned his head back, and Jana gazed up into those deep brown eyes that were so full of love for her, it made her chest hurt as she drew in a breath. In the next instance, Dan’s mouth crushed down on hers, and he plundered her lips as he’d never done before. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him even closer. His intense onslaught, and her equally heated response sent shockwaves of adrenaline rushing through her veins, coiling and entwining in a sweet pain at her very core.

Dan grabbed her waist, and lifted her off the ground. Reflexively, she straddled his hips. He slid one arm beneath her bottom, the other behind her back, and held her close to him. Nothing had ever felt as simultaneously wondrous, scary, and exciting as his arousal pressed up against the junction of her thighs.

No man had ever brought forth such a rush of feelings in her. Did she want to take the next step? Was it worth the risk? Part of her gave in to the wildly delicious sensations as Dan continued to explore her lips with his own. Her body responded, and she ached for him. That little nagging voice at the back of her mind tapped at her conscience, growing more insistent even as her heart pounded fiercely in her chest to give herself completely to him.

Unable to bear the exquisite torture of unfulfilled longing and desire, she pulled her head away, gasping for air. Dan’s chest heaved against her breasts, his breathing as labored as her own.

“Jana,” he whispered, and buried his face in her hair. His lips along her neck sent renewed ripples of desire along her spine. She tilted her head back to allow him freer access to the delicate skin along her neck and throat, and moaned from sheer pleasure.
Just one more kiss
. She had to stop this now, or there would be no turning back.

“Dan, please . . .” she gasped, unable to bring forth any other words. He must have understood. His hand relaxed along her thighs, and she dropped her legs to the ground, not sure whether they would support her own weight or not. Dan’s arms around her waist kept her from collapsing to her knees. She released her grip from around his neck, her arms shaking.

“I . . . I love you, Dan,” she said, her voice hoarse, and stared into his passion-glazed eyes.

He cleared his throat, and swiped one hand along her cheek, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear. “I’ll never do anything you don’t want me to do, Jana. If you’re not ready for . . .”

A slow, loud clapping sound behind them startled Jana out of her dream-like, passion-filled state. Dan immediately tensed. He released her, and quickly pushed her behind him, a string of curses on his lips.

“That was - how shall I say - an arousing performance,” a man’s voice spoke. He didn’t have quite the heavy French accent Jana remembered from the trapper they had met the previous night. She wheeled around, and Dan gripped her arm to keep her shielded behind him.

“I cannot wait to try that maneuver myself. Perhaps it would work better with less clothing, no?”

Jana stared wide-eyed, as three men emerged from behind the trees. She recognized Etienne Bautiste, who stood between the two others, his flintlock raised and aimed at Dan. Another man stood to Etienne’s left. He looked to be in severe discomfort. One leg was raised up slightly, not bearing any weight, while the trapper leaned heavily on his rifle that he propped in the dirt like a crutch. The man who spoke had a visible sneer on his face, and a predatory look in his beady gray eyes.

“Etienne, you fool. This is not Daniel Osborne. Look at him.” The trapper waved a disgusted hand at Dan. “Daniel Osborne dresses like the Snakes who raised him. This man,” - he assessed Dan from top to bottom with his eyes – “doesn’t even carry a weapon.”

“My name’s Daniel Osborne, and I’ll dare you to disprove it,” Dan said heatedly.

The trapper leered at him. “And the woman? Daniel Osborne’s woman is said to have hair like gold.”

“Then you must not have heard right.”

Jana grabbed Dan’s arm. The adrenaline rush of passion from a few moments ago was replaced by cold fear. Her eyes darted around their little camp. The canister of bear spray was hooked to the carabiner on Dan’s backpack. She had no idea where the knife was.

The trapper who’d been speaking slowly walked closer, his pistol raised at Dan’s chest.

“If you are Daniel Osborne, then today is the day you die. I have been waiting for an opportunity like this.” Jana gasped at the man’s words.

“I don’t even know who the hell you are, so why don’t you tell me why you want me dead.” Dan seemed much too calm. Jana’s own heart was racing. It seemed like their luck had finally run out. She glanced at the other trappers, their weapons raised, ready to shoot. There seemed to be no way out of this situation.

The man smiled, but it was a cold, calculated, murderous smile. “If that is truly the woman the Snakes call
Dosa Haiwi
, she will have the magic of healing.” The trapper glanced over his shoulder. “My companion took a swipe to the leg from a bobcat the other day. He needs medicine.”

Jana stepped quickly out from behind Dan. His hand reached for her, but she pulled away.

“If I save your friend’s leg, you will leave us alone,” she called out, hoping her voice didn’t betray the fear she felt.

The man laughed. “You are not in a position to make such a bargain, but I will grant you this. Heal Gaston’s leg, and we will kill your man quickly.”

Jana’s heart sank. What had Daniel done to elicit this man’s hatred? They had obviously never met the real Daniel Osborne before, or they would have realized that Dan was not him. “And what if I refuse?” she asked.

“You will not refuse, ma cherie. Unless you enjoy watching this man be tortured to death.”

Dan yanked Jana back, and took a step toward the trapper. “She’ll not help you regardless,” he said roughly between clenched teeth. The man cocked his pistol, and Dan stopped. Jana had no doubt he would have disarmed this trapper in an instant, but Etienne had his own rifle pointed at Dan. There was no way he could fight all three of these men at once. 

“After she is done healing my friend,” the trapper snarled, “you will have the pleasure of watching her ride me the way she rode you moments ago. Only I will possess her like a real man.”

In a move that happened quicker than in the blink of an eye, Dan shoved Jana to the side, then kicked his leg out, effectively dislodging the pistol from the man’s grasp. In the next instant, he grabbed the trapper by the front of his shirt, and slammed his fist into his opponent’s face. Jana stumbled to the ground from the momentum of Dan’s shove just as a shot fired. Her head darted from Etienne to Dan, but she couldn’t tell if the shot had hit its mark. Etienne whipped his pistol from his belt, and ran toward Jana. She scrambled to her feet, but he grabbed her by the arm and held the weapon to her head.

“Release Claude, or this woman dies,” Etienne called loudly. Jana gagged at the stench coming from the man’s mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the third man, Gaston, limp quickly toward Dan, his own pistol raised at him.

“You idiot,” Claude yelled toward Etienne, gasping and spitting blood that dripped from his mouth where Dan’s fist connected with his lips. “You could have shot me.” He turned his blood-splattered face toward Dan, who stood frozen in front of Gaston. His eyes filled with fear as he stared toward Jana.

“Leave her be,” Dan called. Claude pulled a long strip of leather from the pouch around his neck.

“Do not fight me, or your woman is dead,” he sneered. “Put your hands together behind your back,” he commanded. With fury in his eyes, and his jaw clenched, Dan complied, and Claude tied the leather around his wrists.

“You,” Claude called to Jana. “Fix Gaston’s leg. Do it now, or I will take great pleasure in killing your man as he killed my cousin last summer.”

Jana’s eyes darted to Dan. Was he thinking what she was? He laughed slowly. “Your cousin? Would that have been one of those stinking coyotes who kidnapped my . . . wife?”

“Pierre Renault was my cousin,” Claude barked, advancing on Dan. He pulled his knife and held it to Dan’s throat.

“No!” Jana screamed. “I’ll . . . see what I can do for your friend’s leg. Leave Dan. . . Daniel alone.” She glared at Etienne, who still held the pistol to her head. Every cell in her body screamed to rush to Dan.

“When I heard this past winter what had happened to him and to my good friend, Franscoise Chaubelon, I swore vengeance.” Claude continued, apparently unmoved by Jana’s plea. Abruptly, he pulled the knife back, and stuck it back in his belt. “You will die a slow and torturous death, Daniel Osborne.” With those words, he turned toward Jana.