Before the Dawn (13 page)

Sam looked pleased. “Let me get rid of these plates, and I'll be right back.”

The cake and ice cream were good. “This is heavenly,” Leah gushed softly as she ate from the wedge of the heavily frosted cake.

Ryder thought the happiness on her face far sweeter than any dessert. He found himself wondering if her kisses would be sweet as well. Even though Ryder had no true recollection of what his father looked like, he suddenly found himself imagining her in the arms of an old man, kissing him, being caressed by him, making love to him. He pushed his cake away.

Leah looked up from her plate just in time to see the sour look on his face. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

He bored her with eyes so foreboding, she unconsciously drew back.

Ryder lied. “No.”

Leah knew he wasn't being truthful; the dark clouds gathered over his face were rooted in something. She thought back over the last few moments in an attempt to determine if she'd said anything that might have brought on the abrupt change of mood, but came up with nothing.

Ryder sensed she didn't believe him. He looked at her velvety black skin, those expressive feline eyes, and that sirenlike mouth, and knew that the man he hated most in the world had had her first.

Unable to get past that reality, Ryder set down his fork. Tight-lipped, he pushed back from the table and stood. “I'm sorry. I just remembered a report I was supposed to finish tonight. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Leah sat there speechless. Confusion warred with hurt
and anger. Had he done this purposely? Had he made her get all dressed up just to treat her this way? In the end, she told herself it didn't matter. Her chilly response acted as armor. “Then by all means, go and finish your report.”

“Feel free to finish your cake.””

Leah stood. “No thanks. I've lost my appetite.”

For a moment, as their eyes held, she thought she saw regret reflected in his, but that didn't matter either. His leaving did, and the sooner the better.

He inclined his head in a silent good-bye.

When he left her alone, Leah let out a sigh of regret. She didn't know any other way to describe her feelings; she'd actually enjoyed parts of the evening, but something had set him off, and she'd be willing to bet it had to do with Monty. His memory seemed destined to surface and cause conflicts no matter how hard they both tried to pretend otherwise.

Hearing someone entering the room behind her, she turned and saw Sam. He had what looked to be regret in his eyes. “He's gone I see.”

Leah set aside her emotion. “Yes. I'm going to my room. He said he'd see me tomorrow.”

“Then will you stay and finish your cake with me?”

The plea in his eyes touched her, melting away her anger. “Of course.”

While Leah finished her cake, Sam kept up a steady flow of conversation. She found his stories about his years with the Ninth fascinating enough to make her forget all about the maddening Ryder Damien.

“Yep,” Sam was saying, “spent a whole lot of years up there in Montana. Terrible winters, just terrible. After one blizzard, found one of the mules standing up frozen solid in his stall. We ate him of course,” he added grinning.

“But of course,” Leah replied with a smile.

Yes, she liked Sam Waters. He had an easy way of look
ing at life that seemed to contrast sharply with Ryder's dark view.

“You know,” Sam pointed out, “even though the Tenth gets a lot of recognition, the Ninth had its share of adventures and decorations too.”

“Where were they stationed?”

“Oh, Montana, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma. We rebuilt Fort Davis down in Texas, you know.”

Amused, Leah replied, “No, I didn't.”

“Well, we did. We chased bandits, Kickapoos, Apaches. Guarded lumber trains and wagon trains. Put up telegraph wires, cleared roads. You name it we did it. Served under Major Albert P. Morrow.”

“You sound mighty proud of the time you were a soldier.”

“Mighty proud. Only place in this country where a Black man is allowed to be a man. Of course, like the Tenth, we got cast-off supplies and broken-down horses, but we had no control over that. Instead we concentrated on being the best unit in the West. And we were. The Tenth'll probably argue, but hey, we were the best.”

When he was done boasting, he looked her way, and asked, “What did you two fight about?”

Leah knew he was referring to Ryder. “Nothing actually. One moment we were eating cake and the next he had thunderclouds all over his face. I got all dressed up for nothing it seems.”

“Well, he can be a touch slow at times, but—” He paused dramatically.

Leah looked over. “But what?”

“He's never brought a woman up to Sunrise before.”

“Sunrise?”

“That's what this ranch's called.”

The implications of that floored her for a moment. “Never?”

“Never. That's why I looked so surprised to find you getting out of the buggy.”

Leah couldn't help herself. She had to ask a second time. “Never?”

“Ever.”

She had no idea what to do with such a startling piece of information.

“Pretty surprised, are you?”

“Very surprised, Sam.”

“Means you're special.”

“It means he paid fifteen thousand dollars for me. I don't wish to be special. Besides, he and I will never resolve the issue of his father.”

“Give him time. Like I said, he's a touch slow sometimes, but he usually makes up for it once he's got everything figured out.”

“Has he told you how long I'm going to be here?”

Sam shook his head. “You might want to ask him.”

“I suppose, but it won't be this evening. I've had enough of him for one day.”

“He can be prickly, but he has a good heart. Just needs a good woman.”

Leah looked at him and snorted. “Now I know it's time for me to go to my room. A good woman?”

Leah couldn't help herself—she laughed. “Sam, are you matchmaking?”

He placed his hand over his heart. “Never let it be said that I've ever lied to a beautiful woman. Yes, ma'am, I am. You see, I'm gettin' old, and Ryder's going to need someone to look after him once I'm gone.”

“Hire a nurse.”

“Not when you'll do so much better.”

“If I was his woman, he'd need an undertaker, not a nurse.”

Sam howled with glee. “Yes, ma'am, you'll do just fine.”

An outdone Leah grinned and finished off the last bites of her cake. She could just imagine herself married to the Dark Lord of the Mountains. They'd spend the entire time hurling lightning bolts at one another; scaring the children, and frightening the wildlife.

Leah did like Sam though.

 

Hours later, alone in his bedroom, Ryder stood before the large windows staring out at the night. The only light and sound came from the wood burning in the fireplace. Leah was on his mind. Why couldn't she have been a woman he'd met by happenstance? Why did she have to be his father's woman?

When Ryder heard Sam come in, he didn't turn around. “She okay?”

“Yes,” Sam said tightly.

“I sense disapproval in your tone, old man.”

“You didn't do right by her tonight.”

“I know,” Ryder replied quietly. It was a large admission from a man who rarely faced his shortcomings.

“Why are you treating her so badly?”

“Because I want her and can't have her.”

“Why not?”

“Would you want a woman who'd lain with your enemy first?”

“Depends on the woman. Take her for who she is now, not who she might've been.”

Ryder turned back to the night. “Easier said than done.”

“I agree, but for a woman like that…” Sam's voice trailed off as if the statement spoke for itself.

“Even for a woman like that.”

There was silence then.

Sam broke it a few moments later. “Well, I'm going on to bed. She's too nice to be treated like trash, Ryder.”

Ryder didn't respond.

“See you in the morning,” Sam told him.

“Good night, old man.”

Once he was alone again, Ryder thought back on Sam's words.
Take her for who she is now, not who she might've been.
If only it were that simple. On one hand he wanted to toss aside his past and pursue her fully, but on the other hand, to do so would be to betray himself. Life had been so orderly before her arrival. Now, all Ryder could think about was a black-diamond beauty named Leah Barnett Montague and that she'd slept with his father.

T
hat next morning Leah awakened to the smell of coffee. As she lay in bed, looking up at the faint traces of dawn on the ceiling, she thought about last night. Was this her destiny, to be tossed about like a small ship on his moody seas? One moment he'd been tenderly caressing her hand, and the next cold as ice. It was not an auspicious beginning.

Leah got out of bed. After washing and dressing, she went to greet the day.

“Morning, Sam,” she called as she entered the kitchen. “Coffee smells wonder—” Her words faded at the sight of the shirtless Ryder coming in the back door. He was carrying a load of kindling and the hard brown muscles of his arms and chest were dewed and shiny. Leah forced her eyes away from his chiseled physique.

“Good morning,” he said emotionlessly. He set the wood in the box by the stove. There was a blue-checked flannel
shirt hanging on the peg on the back door. He took the shirt down and put it on. “Sam's out getting eggs.”

Not certain how they were supposed to interact after the way they'd parted last evening, Leah asked, “Where does Sam keep the cups for coffee?”

He opened a cupboard near his head and handed her a painted teacup.

Leah looked skeptically at the dainty little thing. “Do you have anything larger?”

He reached back into the cupboard and extracted a much larger one, one any coffee lover would be proud to fill. “Large enough?”

“Yes.”

Avoiding his eyes, she took it from his hand, then filled it from the pot warming on the stove. The curls of smoke rose up fragrant and familiar. She blew on it a moment and then took a tentative first sip. It was terrible! “Who made this?” she asked before she could call the words back.

He raised an eyebrow. “I did.”

“Is there another pot? I'd like to make my own.”

Ryder had never met so frank a woman. “I make decent coffee.”

“For whom, your horses?”

He stared. In fact, he was still staring when Sam walked in. Sam took in the stormy look on Ryder's face and the determination on Leah's, and asked Ryder, “What did I miss?”

Ryder said coolly. “She was just telling me how bad my coffee is.”

In response, Sam grinned, then cackled, “I knew she was smart the day we met her. Mornin', Miss Leah.”

“Morning, Sam. Do you have another coffeepot?”

“Sure do. Ryder, get the little lady that other pot in that sideboard behind you.”

Leah could see how displeased Ryder looked but she
wasn't going to start her days drinking swill, not even for fifteen thousand dollars.

Sam began cracking eggs into a bowl. “I've been telling him for years about that stuff he calls coffee. Ain't another person alive can drink it. Hogs don't even like it, and you know they'll eat steel wool.”

Leah's snort of laughter slipped out.

Ryder said frostily, “Call me when the food's ready.”

“Sure will,” Sam promised.

Ryder left.

 

In his office, Ryder waited for Sam to finish preparing breakfast by staring moodily out of the windows. The sun was coming up, and the fog that always held sway at this time of day covered the landscape with its softness. He'd planned on starting the day by having breakfast and checking the stock market figures in the two newspapers delivered to his office in Denver yesterday, not by having his coffee-making abilities maligned. His fifteen-thousand-dollar bank draft had purchased her opinions too, he supposed, opinions as frank as she was beautiful.

Beautiful women were supposed to be docile, even-tempered things—not complex riddles. They certainly weren't supposed to criticize his coffee.

When Leah appeared in the doorway with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, he turned her way. He was thinking that no adventuress had the right to look so fetching yet so prim and proper. She was wearing a high-necked white blouse and full navy blue skirt.

“Will you taste this?” Leah asked, holding out the cup. His skeptical face made her add, “I just want to know if it's strong enough for your liking?”

Wary, he took the offered cup from her hand. “You planning on taking over the coffee-making duties?”

“Maybe.”

He observed her for a moment, then took a short sip. “Not bad.” In reality, it was quite good.

“Back at the Swan, I made the morning coffee,” she explained. “The men always asked for more, so I suppose they found it decent.”

Ryder had no trouble telling the difference between his pot and hers—hers had flavor. The lure in her made his sour mood fade like the fog. “If you promise to make coffee like this each morning, I promise never to make coffee again.”

The light of humor in his eyes made Leah smile shyly in spite of herself. “You have a deal.”

“May I keep this one?”

“Yes.”

He set the cup on the windowsill. “I thought back East women like you drank tea.”

“I do, but not first thing in the morning. I need something more substantial to start my day.”

The interest she saw in his dark eyes made her wary, so to cover her uncertainty she turned to scan the titles on some of the neatly aligned books filling the dark wood shelves. Most had to do with mining, engineering, and geology. “I don't think I've ever seen so many books in one person's home.”

“I'm glad there's something about me that impresses you.”

Leah glanced over her shoulder at him and felt her senses touched by the deep tones of his voice and by whatever else it was that made her susceptible to him. She didn't know how to respond. The unresolved issues that had caused yesterday's disastrous dinner still clung to her. “There are probably many things about you I'd be impressed by—if circumstances were different.”

“You mean if there were no bargain between us.”

She nodded, refusing to meet his eyes.

“If there were no bargain, would you stay?”

Leah met his eyes. Although she didn't know very much about him, she sensed the honesty in his question. “I don't know. You're handsome, intelligent, but—I don't know you well enough to say, yes, I'd be your lover if there was no bargain.”

He appreciated her honesty. “Shall I court you like a gentleman then?”

She began to shake inside.

He slowly walked over to where she stood. The intensity in his eyes was plain enough to touch. Although the power in him wafted around her like thick sweet smoke, she still had to know. “Why'd you leave me the way you did last evening?”

Ryder heard the ghost of hurt in her voice. He knew his abrupt departure had upset her; he hadn't known she'd been hurt by it. “Hurting you wasn't my intent.”

She looked away. He wasn't supposed to know her feelings had been bruised.

He reached out and gently turned her face so he could see into her dark eyes. “My demons got the best of me. I'm sorry.”

“If you don't let go of the past, it will consume you.”

“I know, but it's easy to say, hard to do.”

Leah watched his eyes linger over her mouth and her heart started to pound.

She raised her gaze back to his, and the parts of herself that had never experienced a man's desire began to tremble. When he lowered his mouth to hers, she didn't protest; she let the warmth of his lips whisper over hers like a soft breeze. He repeated it, and then as the kiss deepened he brought her body closer, letting his solid nearness fill her, tempt her, dazzle her.

After a few long moments, he pulled away. Her eyes were closed. When they opened they were hazy with the first buds of passion.

Smiling down gently, Ryder worried his brown thumb over her slightly parted lips, savoring their softness. “You have a gorgeous mouth…”

Unable to resist, he kissed her again; this time deeper, his hands moving slowly over her blouse-covered back as he held her against him. He husked out against her ear, “I'd rather seduce you, than court you…”

Leah swore she was at the center of a lightning storm. His kisses now moving over her jaw and the soft trembling skin beneath her chin sent sparks all over the room. He thought her experienced in this, but each touch of his lips was new; so new her virgin's body began to respond with its own will, overriding her mind's efforts to remain in control. She wanted his kiss, wanted to know all the things he could teach her even if there was no commitment for the future.

Shocked by that revelation, Leah wanted to pull back so she could think, catch her breath, but the woman inside wouldn't move. He brushed warm lips against her ear, asking hotly, “Shall I court you…or seduce you?”

Leah melted right then and there. Her legs were like pudding, her mind no better.

“Shall I take you to the theater like a gentleman…or teach you how to ride a Cheyenne warrior…”

Leah groaned. While his kisses continued to ripen her lips, his hands were very slowly learning the curves and shape of her body. Under his coaxing palms her nipples were rising, hardening. The novel sensations arched her back, and a dewy warmth began to spread between her thighs.

On the edges of his consciousness, Ryder could hear Sam calling them for breakfast from the kitchen, but found this meal far more tantalizing. The feel of her rising to his touch and the rich, lush taste of her lips were demanding he close the door and make love to her right here, however he knew Sam would come barging in fussing if he didn't re
spond promptly, so he reluctantly pulled away from her lips, and yelled back, “Be there in a minute.”

Leah hadn't heard Sam's call; she'd heard nothing but the call of her own heated senses. What a wanton, explosive moment. Is this what her future would be like, too, more of these powerful episodes that left her breathless and pulsing? She hadn't known a woman's body could be so consumed.

Ryder looked down at her. “I seem to have found another way to impress you.”

Leah couldn't deny that truth. She was tingling and blooming everywhere. “Are all Cheyenne braves as modest as you?” she asked with a quiet sassiness.

He bent down and kissed her soundly in response. When he let her go, he looked down into her passion-lit eyes and asked, “What do you think?”

“I think we'd better go eat before Sam comes in here with his switch.”

Beguiled by the spell in her, he used a finger to slowly and possessively trace her kiss-swollen mouth. “You have to answer my question first.”

Leah found it hard to think. “What question?”

Unable to resist Ryder touched his lips softly to hers once again. “Do you wish to be courted or seduced?” he whispered.

Through the haze and fog, Leah fought to form speech. “Both…” the woman inside herself answered.

Ryder's manhood tightened. He'd guessed there was heat simmering beneath her prim exterior, and now he knew he'd been correct. “Then you shall have your wish…Let's go eat.”

 

As Leah sat across from him at the small table on the glassed-in porch, she was admittedly still pulsing from his kisses. Her lips felt swollen, and her blood was racing. Who knew he'd be able to affect her this way? She felt desired,
wanted, but, did he want her for herself? She still didn't know.

Turning her mind to the more calming prospect of breakfast, Leah looked at all the choices on the table and wondered if Sam cooked this banquet every morning. There were grits, eggs, and sourdough toast; stewed apples, panfried potatoes, bacon, and sausage. To her further surprise, Ryder helped himself to all of it.

“What's the matter?” he asked, as he worked a bit of butter into his grits.

“Are you going to eat all of that?”

He seemed confused by the question. “Yes.”

Leah shook herself free. “I'm sorry. It's just—I've never seen anyone eat so much, is all.”

He raised one dark eyebrow. “Say the grace.”

Hiding her smile, Leah searched her mind for a moment, then said,
“May God give us his blessing, and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.”

And so, they began their first breakfast together.

Leah had never had breakfast with a man before. There was a certain intimacy in the atmosphere she supposed couples shared all the time, but it was as new to her as the passionate interlude in his study. She also supposed married couples passed the time talking of the upcoming day, plans for dinner, and current events, but what did a man and his paramour discuss? Since she had no answer, she began on her plate.

As Ryder savored his eggs, he also savored the remembered feel of her in his arms and the taste of her lips. The vivid memory made his manhood rise hard as a length of wood. He cut into his potatoes with a promise to sample more of her as soon as it could be arranged.

Every time Leah met his eyes across the table the heat in them seared her softly. Her nipples rose shamelessly, and the pulsing between her thighs renewed its echoing beat.
Her responses couldn't be proper, but she felt certain he preferred them that way. Ryder Damien was a descendant of Black and Cheyenne warriors, and he'd promised to teach her to ride.

Shocking herself with that vivid thought, Leah picked up her coffee in an effort to compose herself; his kisses seemed to have addled her brain. She'd been bought and paid for; she wasn't supposed to be enjoying this, was she, or did that matter anymore? It certainly hadn't back in his study.

“I'm going to have to go into Denver, after we're done with breakfast. Do you mind staying here with Sam?”

“Not at all. He and I are becoming fast friends.”

“Good. I'll ask him to give you a tour of the countryside, if he's not too busy.”

“I'd like that.”

“Did you like my kisses?”

The question caught her off guard. She looked over at him and remembered all he'd made her feel. It was too late to lie now. She nodded. “Yes.”

“I liked yours, too.” And what aroused him most had been the innocence he'd tasted in her lips. Even though he knew she wasn't a virgin, her kisses had been at first tentative, unsure, almost as if she'd never shared passion before. It came to him that maybe she hadn't been introduced fully to the game of love, and the possibility of teaching her all he knew made him want to say to hell with going to town and carry her up to his bed. “I probably won't be back until late. Will you wait up and have dinner with me…? I promise I won't leave you…and I'll be on my best behavior.”