Renegade Love (Rancheros) (8 page)

Dona Valerianna gasped and Alejandro chastised her son. “Do not speak so rudely and crudely to your mother. She worries for you and your wife and wants only happiness for you both.”

Esteban wanted to remind his parents that that would never be, but the sadness in his mother’s eyes had him holding his tongue and silently cursing himself for having spoken so improperly to her. He was worried himself about Rosa, but he didn’t want his parents to know. They would assume that he cared for the petite peasant woman, when it was nothing more than his husbandly duty to protect and keep his wife safe... or so he told himself.

He refused to pay heed to the haunting images of her naked in his arms last night. No soon as he attempted to scatter them with a shake of his head, then they would return full force. As would blatant images of what he ached to do to her.

But that had nothing to do with love. It was lust that taunted him and kept him aroused, and if he didn’t satisfy it soon he would find himself mounting his wife like a wild stallion after a mare in heat, just as he had done to the willing woman in Pacquito’s band of renegades.

“I do not think Rosa would run away,” Don Alejandro said. “She has nowhere to go and she is a dutiful woman and would not abandon her responsibilities.”

“She is obedient, I will give her that,” Esteban said annoyed, wishing that she had some fire to her nature. He had seen a spark of it last night when she had bravely spoken up to Roberto. She had even braced herself for the blow she had known would come, but then the wine had given her courage. She also had had the courage to stop him from killing Roberto, and he had had every intention of splitting the man from throat to groin as he had promised he would do if he dared to raise a hand to Rosa again.

He hadn’t been sure what had stopped him. It could have been her gentle touch or the pleading look in her eyes. Whatever it had been, he didn’t know, though he had warned himself to be cautious, somehow she had affected him and no one had done that in a long time.

Dolores entered the dining room and Esteban was quick to ask, “Have you seen my wife?”

“No, senor, I have not, though...” Dolores hesitated.

“Tell me,” Esteban ordered sharply.

Dolores hurried to obey. “I noticed that a basket and some food, not much, were missing from the kitchen when I returned from collecting eggs. The items taken would barely feed one person.”

“Thank you, Dolores, you may leave now,” Don Alejandro said.

“Rosa seeks some solitude,” Dona Valerianna said with relief.

“But she did not seek permission from her husband,” Alejandro reminded her. “It is not wise of her to wander off on her own. Our land spreads wide and there is no telling who lurks about.”

Esteban felt his whole body grow taut and his heartbeat that had calmed, now once again slammed in his chest. He had wandered off on his own one day and it had taken him sixteen years to return home. He rushed out of the room, alarming his mother.

Alejandro laid a comforting hand on his wife’s arm and smiled. “This is good; he worries about her.”

Dona Valerianna sighed heavily. “But what will he do to her when he finds her?”

Rosa sat under the shade of a large oak tree, content after having a fine meal of bread, cheese and the plumpest orange she had ever seen. She was however worried that perhaps she should not have gone off on her own without telling anyone. It wasn’t that she was trying to be defiant, she had simply wanted... what? What had she wanted? Had she snuck away because she was fearful of facing Esteban again? Just thinking about him sent a shiver through her. How was she to learn about him if she kept her distance from him?

She wondered if anyone had noticed her absence by now and would it matter to anyone. The Curros had been on her every minute of every day. She had barely had a free moment to herself, so today was a gift of sorts and while she thought it might be wise to return to the hacienda, she also didn’t want to relinquish this precious free time afforded her.

No doubt she would have duties as Esteban’s wife, though from what she had seen of Dona Valerianna’s duties they appeared minimal, nothing close to what she had been accustomed to. Actually, Rosa thought that Dona Valerianna’s task was to always look beautiful and be there for her husband whenever he needed her. And then there was her stitching. Dona Valerianna was quite talented with a needle, creating the most beautiful embroidery pieces that Rosa had ever seen.

Rosa scrunched her brow. Was that thunder she heard? She looked up, shading her eyes from the sun with her hand. The sky was a clear blue, not a threat of a storm in sight.

The thunder grew louder until Rosa jumped to her feet, finally realizing that it wasn’t thunder at all but a fast approaching rider. She turned almost in a full circle before she saw him in the distance. And there was no denying who it was.

The urge to run gripped Rosa like a tight hand squeezing the breath from her and yet she found herself frozen. She couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but watch her husband approach at a fast gait. The closer he got, the more clearly she could see how angry he was and the sudden thought of his warning rang in her head.

Don’t make me take the whip to you.

He no soon as brought the mighty stallion to a stop than he bolted off the horse and raced toward her, his face tight with anger

Rosa reacted instinctively, she backed away from him until her back hit the old oak tree and she could go no further. Her eyes turned wide as he kept coming toward her and she braced herself, for what she didn’t know.

She tensed as he slapped his hands against the tree on either side of her head, trapping her. Esteban didn’t say a word, he just stared at her, but then he needed to calm himself before he spoke or did something he would regret. His muscles were tense and ready to strike, ready to protect Rosa. He worried that he would find her embroiled in a dangerous situation, though more worried that he wouldn’t find her at all. When he had seen her in the distance, it had set his heart to hammering more wildly, though with relief this time. Then his anger sparked again.

He brought his face down inches in front of hers. “
Never, ever
, go off anywhere without my permission.”

She nodded rapidly.

He could see her fear and sense it, but what caught his attention the most was her plump moist lips and the sweet scent of oranges that drifted off her. His groin suddenly tightened and the urge to kiss her overpowered him. If he didn’t back away from her now, put a good distance between them, he would surrender to the urge and he wasn’t sure if he would stop at just a kiss.

“
Never again
,” he repeated. “
Understand
?”

She nodded again and the tip of her tongue darted out to lick the center of her lips before darting back in and taking her lips with her, snagging them tightly closed as if locking them away from him.

The thought irritated him, though he doubted she did it on purpose, but it definitely was instinctive, as if she was protecting herself against him... her husband.

Turn away. Walk away. Far away.

He didn’t listen to his warning. It seemed he wasn’t able to. He was too caught up in the closeness of their bodies. Her hard nipples poked at his shirt. All he had to do was lean a bit closer and they would poke his chest.

Get away from her!

Again he didn’t heed the warning. Instead he dared to lean closer and she shrank back away from him, though there was no place for her to go. And when his chest crushed against her breasts, she startled, her eyes turning wide.

He thought to remind her that she was his wife and he could do as he wished with her, but that was not a reminder that he needed to know. It stiffened his already hardened groin. He didn’t realize that his lips had drifted close to hers and pulsated with such a desire to kiss her that it startled him.

Get away now!

This time he listened. He tore himself away from her, turning and stepping away. He’d be a fool to kiss her, for then he’d want to touch her, slip his hand beneath the peasant blouse she wore and caress her soft skin, and then...

He swerved around, his arm snapping out as he approached her and coiled around her waist to yank her hard against him, and then his mouth claimed hers.

Rosa was too shocked to respond. She remained stiff in his arms. Her own arms spread out to her sides, while he kissed her with a hunger that she didn’t know was possible. And it wasn’t long before her body responded to his need or was it her need?

Her hands drifted to his shoulders and rested there as she let instinct take control and she began to respond to his demands. She didn’t know when her hands slipped around his neck or her fingers drifted into his soft hair or when her body pressed against his, she only knew that she was enjoying this intimate moment with her husband.

He groaned while he continued to devour her senses with his kiss. She moaned at the unexpected pleasures that were beginning to consume her. How could she be frightened of her husband and yet feel such pleasure?

She didn’t know what was happening and there was a part of her that didn’t care. Oddly enough she felt safe in his arms and for some reason she felt that he wouldn’t hurt her.

He suddenly grabbed a handful of hair at the back of her head and yanked it back, forcing their kiss to end. He pressed his lips to her exposed neck and mumbled, “I want to sink myself into you.”

And the next thing Rosa knew she was down on the ground on her back and his hands were shoving her skirt up. When his fingers plunged between her legs, she cried out shocked at the intrusion and surprised at the unexpected tingle of pleasure.

He was off her in an instant, turning away as he ordered, “Gather your things, we leave now.”

Rosa wondered what she had done wrong, though she didn’t hesitate to obey him. She pushed her skirt down as she stumbled to her feet and hurried to get her basket. He didn’t have to tell her to follow him to the stallion that was grazing contentedly nearby.

Esteban turned and grabbed her around the waist lifting her onto the saddle in one swift motion. He then mounted behind her, his arm going around her waist while his hand took command of the reins.

He directed the horse in a tempered gallop and after a few silent moments he pressed his cheek to hers and said, “I am a savage. I have taken women with only thought to my pleasure. Keep your distance from me or I will do the same to you.”

Rosa didn’t respond, she didn’t think he expected her to. Not even one day wed and he had warned her twice to stay away from him, and made certain she knew that he was not a gentleman, yet he had come in search of her. Why? If he was such a savage, why would he care?

He didn’t say another word to her. When they reached the hacienda he dismounted, and then reached up and swung her down off the horse.

“Go dress as befitting my wife and do not insult me by dressing in peasant clothes again.”

Rosa was taken aback, upset that he should think that she had dressed to insult him. “I am sorry, I meant no disrespect.”

Her apology annoyed him all the more since he had been the cause of it. After all what did he expect her to do... argue with him? That would only fuel his already fiery blood and have him wanting to finish what he had started under the oak tree.

Without a word, he turned away from her, mounted his stallion, and rode off. He didn’t look back at her. He couldn’t. He feared he would turn his horse around, snatch her up onto the saddle, and ride off with her to a secluded spot to have his way with her more than once.

He spurred his stallion into a hard gallop, but even after a hard ride, it didn’t help. It wasn’t the mighty stallion he wanted to ride. He wanted to ride his wife like no other woman he had ever ridden.

The problem was that she was a delicate, gentle soul and he was no gentleman. She had cried out in alarm when his fingers slipped inside her. What would she do when he was thick with arousal and entered her... faint?

The urge to find out haunted him and would not let go. He feared that sooner or later he would surrender to it, and then what? His wife would find out just how much of a savage he had grown to be.

Supper was a difficult affair that evening. Esteban was silent throughout the whole meal, no matter how many times his father or mother tried to engage him in conversation. They finally gave up and turned their attention to Rosa.

“Do you ride, Rosa?” Don Alejandro asked.

“Yes, do you ride, wife?” Esteban asked.

Rosa looked surprised at him since he knew that she had not shied away from his stallion earlier and had not shown any signs of never having ridden before. So exactly what did he mean?

Don Alejandro must have thought the same for he sent his son a scowl. Only Dona Valerianna seemed unperturbed by her son’s question.

“I have known how to ride since I was young,” Rosa said

“That’s good, for I have a gentle mare that I think would suit you,” Don Alejandro said.

“I’ll decide who my wife mounts,” Esteban said.

That brought a threatening glare from his father, though it didn’t seem to affect Esteban in the least.

“I’m sure Angella is well suited for Rosa, she is such a gentle mare,” Dona Valerianna said as if trying to convince her son.

“Perhaps it is not gentleness she needs in a mount,” Esteban argued and received another glare from his father, though his mother unwittingly, or perhaps not, saved father and son from an argument by changing the subject.

“Invitations have already come in from various haciendas inviting Rosa and me to visit,” Dona Valerianna said with a pleased smile, which Esteban managed to wipe away with a few words.

“Those women are interested in only one thing, to see how Rosa has fared being wed to me.”

“That’s not true,” his mother said. “The women are eager to accept Rosa as one of us.”

Esteban shook his head. “Do not be a fool, Mother, they will never accept a peasant as one of their own. They look to gossip.”

“Esteban may be right about that, Valerianna,” Alejandro agreed. “I would advise that you take Rosa to visit only your closest friends, ones you feel you can trust.”