Chasing Rainbows (26 page)

He slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her with all the eager hunger and restless ardor of an untried schoolboy. Coaxing apart her lips, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, delighting in the sweet maple-candy taste of her mouth. He pulled her tightly against him and cradled her in his lap, rocking her back and forth in a steady motion that matched the rhythm of their kiss. Annie wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting his hungry ardor with her own. She kissed him with a passion and intensity that left Jake nearly breathless.

He pulled back, holding her tightly in his arms as he kissed her chin, her cheek, the pearly-pink lobe of her ear, then gently trailed hot, loving kisses down the nape of her neck. Annie gave a gasp of pleasure and tilted back her head, giving him full access to the warm, sensitive skin beneath her ear.

While his lips skimmed lightly over her skin, he moved his hand to her shirt and began to slowly release the buttons, one by one. He pulled the soft flannel garment off her shoulders, leaving Annie in nothing but a plain cotton undershirt. But that plain undershirt was a thousand times more enticing than any piece of frilly lingerie Jake had ever seen. Her breasts strained against the fabric, full, round globes that he ached to hold in his hands. Her nipples stiffened to ripe, tiny peaks, their dark coral color visible beneath the thin garment.

Resisting the urge to immediately take her into his hands, Jake lightly traced his fingers over the tops of her breasts instead. “You’re beautiful, Annie. So damned beautiful.”

She drew in a sharp breath, then quickly let it out. She watched his fingers move across her skin with an expression of guarded reserve, like she was watching water trickle down a rock. She neither pulled back or encouraged him but simply waited and watched, as though wary and unsure as to what might happen next. Unable to interpret her response, particularly after her kiss had been so hot and inviting, Jake tried a little gentle coaxing.

“Do you like that, Annie?” he asked. “Do you like the way I touch you?”

For a long moment, she didn’t speak. Then she admitted in a guilty, almost breathless whisper, “I don’t hate it.”

“I’m glad.” It was faint praise, but at that moment, Jake was willing to take whatever he could get.

“I’m… surprised,” she said, in a voice that was filled with wonder.

She looked more than surprised, but Jake didn’t pause long enough to decipher the emotions reflected in her expressive eyes. A hunger to touch her that was so intense it bordered on greed took possession of him. His mouth covered hers, lightly at first, gently exploring. Annie deepened the kiss, eagerly renewing their passion by thrusting her tongue into his mouth. Jake gave a groan of sweet relief. Yielding at last to temptation, he cupped her breasts in his hands as their kiss exploded into one of wild, unrestrained passion.

Annie rocked against him, matching the rhythm of their kiss with sweet, uninhibited ardor. She was exactly as Jake had expected her to be, sweet and yielding, wild and exciting, exhibiting the same passion and heat in her sensuality as she demonstrated in her everyday life. She ran her hand up his thigh, over his gun belt, moved lightly along his rib cage, then brought her palm to rest softly on his shoulder. His muscles quivered in response to her touch, aching for direct, skin-to-skin contact.

Slowly, gently he reached for her cotton undershirt and lifted the hem. His hand at last made contact with her bare skin, filling him with a rush of heady yearning. He grasped her shirt, intending to pull it off, when Annie suddenly drew back, stopping him. She squirmed off his lap, turning her face away from his.

Jake stopped, frowning at her in confusion. “What is it, darlin’?”

“Can we slow down a bit?”

“Of course,” he agreed immediately, feeling totally inept at so obviously misreading her. “I thought you were enjoying—”

“I was,” she rushed to reassure him. “I am. It’s just that, well… I ain’t never done this before.”

Had she dumped a cold bucket of water over his head she couldn’t have shocked Jake any more. Nor could it have cooled his ardor more quickly. He drew back abruptly, appalled.

“I thought you were… that is, I thought you had…” he managed to stammer out.

Annie studied his face, her eyes wide and innocent. “Why?”

Partly because her responses had been so hot and eager. Partly because of the life she had led. Living in a hideaway cabin in the woods with five notorious outlaws didn’t exactly qualify her for the sisterhood. And finally, partly because it made seducing her that much more conscionable.

Her eyes narrowed as she correctly guessed a portion of his thoughts. “You thought I had experience because I ran with the gang and all.”

“Annie—”

“You thought I was one of them easy women, didn’t you?” she demanded.

He flashed her his most seductive grin. “Well, darlin’, it seemed likely, didn’t it?”

“I see.” She regarded him steadily, her tone cool and collected. “Yes, I suppose that was natural to assume.”

“Then you don’t mind—”

Her fist connected with his jaw before he had a chance to finish his sentence. Jake’s head snapped around, then his eyes widened with surprise. “What the hell was that for?” he protested, rubbing his jaw. “I thought you said it was a natural assumption.”

She sprang to her feet, her eyes flashing fire and her body quivering with angry indignity. “Just because it’s natural to assume don’t mean it ain’t an insult.”

Jake watched her stomp away, then threw back his head and let out a shout of laughter. At least one thing was for damned sure. As long as Miss Annabel Lee Foster was around, he would never be bored.

Annie studied Jake from across their camp, trying to sort out what had happened between them. She watched as he tended to their fire with a lean, sparse economy of motions, patiently piling kindling onto the already blazing flame. A stiff breeze kicked up, sending a shower of sparks in her direction. She waved the sparks away and glanced up at the sky, noting the dark, ominous clouds that filled the distant horizon.

“You reckon we ought to find another spot to make camp?” she asked.

Jake glanced up at the sky and shrugged. “The storm might miss us. Looks like it’s heading east.”

Annie didn’t argue. She waited until Jake had resumed his seat, then volunteered softly, “I’m sorry I hit you.”

Jake looked up at her and grinned. “Seems to me I had it coming, darlin’.”

“Why?”

“For assuming things I had no right to assume. That punch of yours was entirely right and proper, so don’t you go giving it another thought.”

Annie looked away, unreasonably disappointed in his response. She hadn’t wanted Jake to stop entirely — in fact, that was the last thing she had wanted. She had just needed a minute or two to collect her thoughts. For up to that point, Annie had been engulfed in a wave of pleasure so vast it had threatened to sweep her away entirely. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been enjoying it — only that she wasn’t quite sure what was expected of her next. She had only wanted to stop, get her bearings, and then move on.

But now that moment was over, gone forever. She had ruined it completely, and she had no idea how to repair the damage she had done.

Jake picked up a stick and began to idly poke the fire. Shadows flickered across his face. “What are you thinking about, Annie?” he asked after a minute.

She gave a small, mirthless smile and shrugged her shoulders. “Chasing rainbows.”

He arched one dark brow. “What does that mean?”

“When I was a little girl, my father used to tell me stories about magic elves, unicorns, and pots full of gold that were hidden away at the end of a rainbow. He said that they were all there, all the riches in the world, just waiting for the right little girl to come and find them. I was convinced that I was that little girl. Every time it rained, I would hunt for a rainbow, then grab Hannah by the hand and drag her along with me, running and running trying to reach the end.”

Jake smiled softly. “Did you ever find it?”

Annie shook her head. She had never found the rainbow’s end, but she had spent plenty of time imagining what she would feel like once she did. She would feel wondrously happy, contented, and secure. She would feel as though she were exactly where she belonged, and everything was right with the world.

She would feel exactly the way she had when Jake Moran held her in his arms.

A few minutes passed in empty silence, then Jake quietly asked, “What do you know about making love, Annie?”

Her startled gaze flew to his. “What kind of question is that?”

“That’s the kind of question I need to ask if we’re going to finish what we started earlier.”

“Oh.”

“That is, if you want to finish, darlin’.”

Her stomach flipped, then began to flutter, as though a dozen tiny butterflies had just taken wing inside of her. “Do you?” she croaked out.

“Probably more than I’ve wanted anything in my entire life.”

His words, spoken so confidently and unashamedly, had a blunt, undeniable ring of truth. Annie felt flushed with pleasure, unnerved, and embarrassed all at once.

He smiled. “Does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you know about making love, Annie?” he repeated.

She searched her mind, floundering for words that wouldn’t make her sound too naive or clumsy. She had seen a stallion mount a mare. She had also heard the boys bragging about women, late at night after their visits to local cathouses, when they thought she was asleep. She had heard words like titties and fannies, and how those women kept begging for more. But both those examples were simply too humiliating to mention, so she simply shook her head in silence.

“Tell me about Snakeskin Garvey.”

Annie’s eyes shot to his. She hadn’t wanted to bring that up, but she wasn’t surprised that Jake would ask. He looked neither prying or condemning, but simply as though he were gathering information that might affect both of them. She mentally debated the question for a moment, finally deciding it would probably be best to answer straightaway. Otherwise the specter of Snakeskin Garvey might just linger between them, rising up to haunt her when she least expected it.

“The boys met him in a saloon out in Gentry,” she replied. “Snakeskin claimed to be an expert with dynamite, and that’s why Pete took an interest in him. At that point, the boys were just starting to pull bigger jobs, and I reckon Pete thought a man who was handy with dynamite might be a good man to have around. But I knew the first time the boys brought him back to the cabin that he was trouble.”

“Why?”

Annie shook her head, letting out a sigh. “Well, if that man was a snake, he looked at me like I was mouse fricassee. His eyes were constantly moving over me, all hungry and greedy-like, you know what I mean?”

Jake nodded but remained silent, letting her continue.

“Anyway, one day, the boys took off for town. Garvey went with them, but he turned around about halfway, claiming he’d left something back at the cabin. I was inside, getting that night’s supper ready. I didn’t even know he was there until… well, until it was too late. He snuck up on me, just like the snake that he was.”

“What happened?”

Avoiding his eyes, Annie picked up a fistful of dirt, watching it stream through her fingers. “He grabbed me and threw me down,” she answered, amazed how level her voice sounded, as though she were talking about somebody else. “He had me pinned down with his body, and I couldn’t get him off me. I fought and I scratched and I kicked, but that just made him smile even more, like he was enjoying watching me struggle. He started tearing my clothes off, telling me I was gonna be his woman, and that he’d kill me if I told anybody.”

She paused for a moment, risking a glance at Jake. Fortunately she saw neither pity nor disgust in his eyes. All she read there was a strange, curious mix of sad understanding and quiet fury.

“Pete came back,” she continued, “before Snakeskin could finish what he started. I guess Pete started to get suspicious and decided to come check up on things. He walked through that cabin door and found Snakeskin with his britches pulled down and me screaming and hollering beneath him, trying to get away.” She let out a deep breath, shaking her head. “I’ve seen Pete mad before, but I never saw nothing like that. I thought he was going to kill Snakeskin with his bare hands, right before my eyes.”

“He should have,” Jake said quietly.

Annie’s shocked gaze flew to his. To her dismay, she saw that Jake looked deadly serious. She shook her head, letting out a troubled sigh. “I was more scared and shook up than hurt. No sense making things worse by having a murder hanging over Pete’s head. Anyhow, Snakeskin got away from Pete before it came to that. He was bruised and cut up pretty bad, but he could still ride. As he took off, he looked me straight in the eye, real furious-like. He said it was all my fault, and that Pete wouldn’t always be there to protect me. He swore he’d be back one day to even the score.”

Annie paused, rubbing her hands briskly over her arms as a chill ran down her spine. “He meant it too. I could tell. There was a look in his eyes that was just plum crazy, like he was never gonna rest until he found me again.”

“If he does come back, Annie, you just let me know.”

Although Jake’s tone was perfectly calm, there was a solemn threat beneath his words that she had never heard before. A look of quiet, deadly intensity filled his eyes. In that instant, Annie could easily picture him on a battlefield, charging through an onslaught of cannon and rifle fire to do what he thought was right. God help the man who got in his way.

Jake let out a disgusted sigh. “Hell of a way for you to learn about what goes on between men and women.”

Afraid that she had sounded too green, Annie quickly blurted out, “I know folks ain’t supposed to hurt each other. I know it ain’t supposed to be like that.”

He paused for a moment, studying her intently. “Do you know what lovemaking is for, Annie?” he asked.

Relieved at the change of subject, she nodded her head. “Well, for men,” she replied confidently, “it’s just for fun. All that rutting around is supposed to make them happier than pigs in mud. And for women, that’s the way they get with child, so that’s why they do it. But women ain’t supposed to like it at all. That’s why the painted cats in the saloons have to be paid to do it.”