Candace McCarthy (23 page)

She understood now what had motivated the captain to persuade her to bring Susie. She realized, too, why the man had been so convincing. He was a consummate actor,
and he had much at stake … his relationship with his daughter.

Only Milton was going about it the wrong way. He’d never get Susie to come to him willingly, to want him as her father, if he continued to frighten and force his wishes upon her.

She saw Daniel there, in the night, leaning against a tree, not far from the others, yet all alone.

Amelia started to approach him, wondering if the captain or any of the soldiers would see and stop her. If the captain’s Sioux Indians saw her, would they, too, try to stop her?

It didn’t matter if they did. She had to try. It had been a hellishly long day. She needed to talk with Daniel. He didn’t want to see or speak with her, but it didn’t make a bit of difference to her. She deserved a chance to give her side of things.

She slipped from the area where her sleeping pallet lay near Miriam’s bed toward the spot where most of the male captives lay within a fair distance to the army guard. There was a large tree near the men. Daniel leaned against the back of the tree, while most of the others lay crowded several yards from its other side. It was as if all of them had sensed Daniel’s fierce anger and had chosen to distance themselves from him.

Amelia was ready now to face his fury. She’d had over sixteen hours to think about it, to prepare herself to encounter the full force of his ire. She wanted to do it now, before she changed her mind and took the coward’s way out.

It wasn’t until she got closer to him that she saw that Daniel’s arms were tied behind his back, but she couldn’t tell if his ankles were bound.
Well,
she thought,
if they
are, he’ll not be able to run away. He’ll have to stay and listen.

She hunkered down beside him. He didn’t move, and she wondered if he slept, wondered if she should wake him. Amelia stared at him, drinking her fill of his handsome features … his tousled blond hair … the furrow across his brow, as if he slept with painful thoughts.

She swallowed as her gaze drifted to his eyelashes then to his masculine nose … his sensual lips. She shivered, remembering how that wonderful mouth of his played havoc with her senses … her flesh.

She reached out to touch him, hesitating before her fingers made contact with his jaw. Her eyes misted, and a lump formed in her throat. She loved him. With all of her heart, she loved him, but he hated her … everything about her.

She closed her eyes, felt the wave of pain that made her gasp and shudder. She hugged herself with her arms and rose to leave, to return back into the night.

A hand clamped on her arm. She shrieked and spun to see who it was that held her. Her eyes widened and she trembled.

It was Daniel who had the painful hold of her arm, Daniel who gazed at her as if she was the lowest form on earth … his enemy. Somehow, he had managed to unfasten the ropes that had bound his wrists. His grip on her flesh was like a manacle of hot steel.

“Daniel!” she breathed.

“You were leaving so soon?” His blue eyes glared at her without affection, without the least bit of the admiration she’d come to appreciate in his gaze.

“I thought you were asleep.” She struggled to pull away, but he refused to release her.

“Here?” he said mockingly.

“Please,” she gasped, “you’re hurting me.”

“You’ll stay if I let go of you?”

She stared at him, nodded.

He released her, and she rubbed her sore arm.

For a long time, neither spoke. Their silence was painful to Amelia. She wanted to crawl onto his lap and beg his forgiveness. She wanted to grab him and kiss him, then pull him down to lie on her. She wanted, needed, to feel him deep inside her.

Never again.
The thought made her clench her eyes tight and nearly cry out with the pain.
Never again will
he love me.
If he’d ever felt anything remotely like love for her while they’d been passionately involved, she thought.

She could feel him staring at her in the darkness. She studied him, shivered at his dark look. This was her chance to explain, and she had yet to start telling him.

She held her breath; she released it in a shuddering sigh. “I’m sorry,” she whispered brokenly. “I’m so sorry.”

Their eyes locked and held in the darkness. There was enough moonlight to see that Daniel’s glittering gaze held no warmth. Amelia reached out to touch him, saw him flinch when her fingers brushed his arm. She drew back as if burnt.

“I shouldn’t have brought Susie,” she said.

His gaze narrowed. “You made a promise,” he replied after a long moment of silence. “You broke that promise. You destroyed my trust.”

“Daniel—”

“Why?” he said brusquely. “What possible reason could you’ve had for leaving the cabin?” She saw his hands fist on his lap. “In leaving with the man—”

“Captain Milton.”

“I know who he is!” he rasped.

A surge of anger rose behind her pain. “That’s right, you do, don’t you?” She looked at him accusingly. “He’s Susie’s father.” She grabbed his arm. “Not you. Richard Milton!”

His arm muscles balled beneath her fingers. He glanced down at her grip as if she were poison and he wanted to be rid of her, but she didn’t release him. She couldn’t let go of the warmth of his flesh. At the moment, it was the only thing that was warm about him.

“You talk about trust,” she said, “yet you couldn’t trust me with the truth.” Her anger dissipated, and the pain rose to choke her. “You couldn’t trust me with the truth,” she repeated in a rasping whisper. “You never trusted me.” Tears filled her eyes, but she made no effort to dash them away.

Her voice broke as she continued. “You led me to believe that Susie was your daughter … that Jane was your
wife … the woman you’d never get over loving.” The tears slipped down her cheeks. “All along Jane was your sister and Susie your niece.” She allowed a flash of anger to shimmer through her tears. “You were never married, were you?”

Emotion worked on his face as he stared at her. “I was married.”

She felt a flicker of surprise.

“But I’m not about to discuss Pamela with you.”

Amelia closed her eyes.
Pamela.
He was married and his wife had a name.

“I don’t know what I can say to make you understand,” she said.
Because you were gone, and I was so scared,
so frightened that something had happened to you. That
you’d never return.

“What possible reason could there be for putting a little child in danger?”

“I didn’t know she’d be in danger!” she cried.

He shook off her hand, grabbed her by the shoulders. He dragged her closer so he could glare into her eyes. The heat between them sizzled and burned.

“You didn’t trust me to find your father. You wanted to come; and when I wouldn’t let you, you decided to get that scum over there to help you. Admit it.” He shook her until her teeth rattled. “Admit it!”

“All right!” she gasped. “I admit it. I did go to the captain for help—”

He thrust her away from him in disgust.

“But it’s not what you think!” she cried.

“I don’t want to hear any more.”

She realized then that she’d do anything to make Daniel listen. It had become suddenly more vital than her own life that Daniel understood and believed her. If he heard
her out, then sent her away, at least, she would have had the satisfaction of knowing she’d had her say.

“Daniel, please, you must listen to me.” She no longer cared if the captain or any of his men heard her. She scrambled back to him on her knees, latched on to his arms.

He didn’t move. He was unyielding. Despite her hold on him, he wouldn’t look at her or acknowledge her, not even by shoving her away. His rejection, his adamant refusal to listen, was more than she could bear. She began to sob his name, begging him to listen to her.

“Please, Daniel,” she cried. “Please, listen to me.”

Daniel held himself firmly in check as Amelia begged and pleaded to be heard. He’d heard enough, he thought. He was furious with her; he’d never known such fury. It curled in the pit of his stomach; it shook him to the depths of his soul.

He wanted her. Damn, but he wanted her despite her lying, deceiving heart. She’d done the unthinkable, put herself and Susie in the heat of danger. She was selfish, just like Pamela. He shook his head; he didn’t particularly want to think of his dead wife.

As Amelia’s soft cries hammered at his ears, he realized that it was Amelia’s safety that caused him the most worry. Despite the fact that Milton was a monster, he didn’t think that Richard would actually stoop to hurting his own daughter. Maybe his wife, but not an innocent child.

But Amelia … with her glistening brown hair, sparkling eyes, and pink lips. She was a woman whom Milton would enjoy. Daniel’s jaw clenched. The thought of his brother-in-law’s hands touching Amelia’s skin, kissing her mouth …
raping her …
made him want to strike something.

The night was quiet but for her. No one had heard them; everyone was sleeping. He looked down at her. She lay against him, crying softly, pitifully. Something stirred in his gut. He was angry, but his anger was rooted in his concern for her. Seeing her within Milton’s clutches nearly destroyed him.

He loved her.

He didn’t want to love her; he didn’t want to be that vulnerable again.

Daniel grabbed her arms to angrily thrust her away, but he found himself lifting her instead, slowly, carefully, so that their bodies brushed against each other and their faces were even. He shifted her so that she straddled him.

She whimpered. He didn’t want to feel sorry for her; he didn’t want to care that she was hurting … and that the reason for her pain was him.

She seemed to realize that he’d moved her. She stopped crying, gazed at him with watery eyes, and he heard her gasp at the fury she must have seen in his expression … the fury and the desire … for his body had hardened with a mind of its own.

From somewhere in his thoughts came the notion that it wasn’t just lust driving him at the moment, but he refused to recognize it.

“No, Daniel,” she gasped with fear in her eyes.

She must have seen some of the violence in his gaze. He felt violent, was ready to explode at the least bit of provocation. She blinked, struggled to get away, but he tightened his grip. Her bid for escape only empowered him. It inflamed him all the more.

“No.”

He pulled her closer, so that her breasts were crushed against his chest. “Yes,” he said. He could hear her little gasps in his ear.

“Daniel, ple—”

Her cry was muffled by his lips as he crushed her mouth, tasted her sweetness. He filled himself with her fragrance, her flavor. No matter how hard he tried to get closer to her, it wasn’t enough.

He dragged his mouth from her lips to her throat, nipped the throbbing pulse there. She moaned and ceased to fight, and he knew he’d have her … not slow and easy, but fast and hard. Just like his anger.

He dipped his head, encountered the neckline of her gown, and released her long enough to rip the bodice off one shoulder. He would have torn the dress free, but he knew the damage would be too noticeable. She’d have nothing to wear when it was over, and she’d be exposed and vulnerable to Milton’s men.

As his fingers fumbled to undo the buttons of her bodice, he wondered if Milton had seen Amelia leave her bed to come to him. As he jerked open the gown to expose her chemise, he hoped that if anyone was awake, they were truly blocked from view by the tree … and that no one would decide to check on him.

The thought spurred Daniel on to urgency. He grabbed hold of the chemise collar and jerked it downward to expose her white breasts. He fastened his mouth on a dark pink nipple.

She cried out, and fearing discovery, he reared back and clamped a hand over her mouth. She stared at him with glazed eyes; fear and passion warred with each other to shimmer in the brown depths.

“Don’t make a sound,” he growled. “Do you hear me?”

Her eyes widened as she stared at him. The haze in her expression started to lift. He released her mouth, and his gaze narrowed as it followed the path his hand made as it trailed down to her breast. He took her nipple between
his fingertips, pinched it, then when she gasped,
he
softened his touch, rubbing the sensitive nub until it perked up and the passionate glaze returned to her eyes.

“You were made for this,” he whispered. He transferred his attention to her other breast. “See how you respond to me?” His eyes gleamed. “You hate me with your mind right now, but your body … your body is telling me something else.”

Amelia stifled a moan as Daniel played her body with the expertise of one who knew exactly how to please
her.
She gasped when he latched on to her nipple with his mouth, bit lightly, then laved the sensitive nub with his tongue.

There was leashed violence in his movements. It was as if any moment it would erupt and send him
hurtling
over the edge. Her anticipation became laced with excitement at the danger. She jerked when his hand slipped into her gown to her belly, where he splayed his fingers as if stating his possession of her. He rubbed her skin, then groaned, as if frustrated with the constriction of fabric, and pulled his hand out.

She was aware of the dampness on her breasts and nipples. She gazed at him, but could barely see for the passionate haze clouding her own vision.

He dipped his head again to suckle her breast, drawing upon the nipple hard. Her hands floundered in the air, then her fingers settled in his hair as she clutched him to her. Her head fell backward as sensation after sensation poured through her. Hot pleasure spiraled in her core and fanned outward. As the pulsing waves continued to spread, she found it difficult to think, to breathe. She tried not to cry out, felt the scream building in her throat, looking for release.

No!
she thought. She couldn’t control it. The pleasure
was too dark, too strong. As if sensing that she’d had enough, Daniel let go of her nipple. She shuddered and gasped in air, but then he was attacking her damp breast’s twin. Using lips, teeth, and tongue, he continued the pleasure. She felt the cry rising again with the ecstasy … the pleasure-pain.

Her gasping moan was captured by his mouth. The heat of his breath filled her nostrils. The wild masculine scent of him drugged her, bullied her into a world of mindless bliss.

He raised his head and touched her already sensitive breasts. He shifted her on his lap and she could feel the male bulging heat of his desire.

He jerked his hips a bit, and her eyes widened as the shimmering sensation was compounded by the ache in her groin area. “Daniel,” she breathed, shivering in his arms.

Daniel studied Amelia, and smiled darkly. She had her head thrown back, exposing the long lovely line of her throat. He could hear her panting breaths. His gaze dropped to the rise and fall of her wet, swollen breasts.

A sound from the camp behind him reminded him where they were, who they were with … how precarious their position was.

They were making love in the midst of villains.

If he didn’t have her soon, he feared the moment would be lost for him to ever have her again.

He pulled her forward, cradled her face with his hands, and kissed her, a hot mating of tongues that spoke of his desire to possess her, to punish her.

She whimpered softly beneath his mouth. While he continued to kiss her, he slid his hand down her side, over her skirts, along hip and thigh, past knee and calf to the hem of her garment. Bunching the fabric in his fist, he began to raise the fabric, baring leg, then thigh. He didn’t
stop kissing her; he didn’t pull away and look down, for he knew that the sight of her nakedness would unravel him.

He delved his fingers into her secret warmth. She bucked and tightened her leg muscles. He found her nub, and rubbed it gently but with friction, until she shuddered, and his mouth caught her wild little cry as she soared into a climax.

He could feel her shock. He caught her jaw, made her look at him. He sent her a look that told her he wasn’t done with her yet … not by a long shot.

Another sound pierced his consciousness. He saw by Amelia’s horrified expression that she’d heard it, too. Someone had moaned in his or her sleep.

Amelia started to get up, but he held her down, caught her gaze, then kissed her deeply.

The noise beyond their intimate world had filled Daniel with the urgency to have Amelia now, to take her.

He jerked up her skirts just as he raised his head. He sensed Amelia’s surprise at his roughness, but it didn’t matter. The throbbing heat of wanting her propelled him to continue.

He kissed her, delving deeply with his tongue, while he worked with one hand to undo his loincloth. His fingers fumbled at the string on this side, but couldn’t find the knot. He lifted his head, cursed, and shifted Amelia so that he had access to his other side. Then, his lips fastened on her left breast as his fingers made quick work of the string.

He lifted Amelia, brushed the breechclout out of the way, then lowered her quickly until he had fully impaled her on his staff and felt himself throb painfully in the moist softness between her thighs.