River Song (17 page)

His own need, white-hot in its intensity, urged him to kneel above her where he loomed for a long moment. Recording her expression, the beautiful glow of desire, Cole committed the moment to memory and knew he would carry it to his grave. Then slowly, his gaze locked in hers, he filled her—with his passion, with his soul.

Ribbons of sunlight filtered in through the window and bathed Sunny with morning's first glow. A warm breeze pushed the curtains aside and found its way to her sated body, where it caressed her as Cole had the night before. Feeling kittenish and feminine, she lifted her heavy lids and stared into the face of her lover.

Cole still slept, his mustache curled at the corners of his mouth in contentment. The lines fanning out from his eyes were somehow softer this morning, the deep furrows between his brows almost nonexistent. Was she the cause of this newfound peace, or did he awaken smooth and fresh each day and she simply hadn't noticed it before? She smiled at the sight of his tousled blond hair, the way some of the longer curls at his neck, still damp from the night's exertions, clung to his skin. Taking a deep breath, Sunny inhaled his scent, noticed how beautifully it mingled with the clean sweat of their lovemaking and the heady musk of passion.

She tried to change her position for a view of his entire body, but found she was trapped. Reaching up, Sunny discovered Cole clenched a fistful of her hair in each hand, and when she tried to move the lower half of her body, she also realized one of his muscular legs lay possessively across her.

Tickled, hoping he felt as contented and happy as she, Sunflower painted the silk of his mustache with a tentative fingertip. When one sleepy green eye inched open and tried to focus on her laughing face, she grinned and murmured, "Top of the mornin' to ye,
ave
ahala
."

This pried the other eye open. His lip curving up at one corner, Cole released her hair and pulled her to his mouth for a long, leisurely kiss. So it hadn't been a dream or mirage, he thought as she opened herself to him. Sunflower was his in every sense of the word. But for how long and to what end? They would arrive at his home before sundown, be smothered by his family and friends. Would she be accepted by them—by
him
on his own turf? When their lips parted, he shook off his concerns and centered his thoughts on her radiant beauty. Her cheeks were alive with color, her dark eyes flashing with sparks of Irish mischief. With a hoarse laugh, Cole gathered her in his arms and snuggled her against his chest.

"So," he chuckled. "What's an
ave
ahala
,
or do I not want to know?"

Her laughter high-pitched and delicate like fine crystal, Sunny sprinkled good-morning kisses in the valley of his throat before she answered. "I am not sure, but it is Quechan and I think it has something to do with this private time." She considered telling him the first word meant rattlesnake, then chuckled and decided against it. "I only meant to say, good morning, Cole Fremont. I am very happy this morning."

"So am I, Sunny." Cole slid his hand around to the side of her neck and found his gaze cornered by the unsettling contrast between their skin tones. Hers, a creamy berry-brown highlighted with a hint of copper, his, tanned but more palomino than buckskin. In spite of himself, of the warm feelings growing inside him, a sudden image of his father flashed through his mind.

Cole jackknifed to a sitting position and slid out of the bed. He began to dress, careful to keep his gaze and troubling thoughts to himself, and stated as casually as possible, "If we're going to make the ranch before sundown, we'd better be on our way."

Unsure of his thoughts, Sunny pulled on her drawers and slipped into her camisole. But when she climbed off the bed and looked around, she remembered she was in his, not her own room.

"My dress," she muttered, afraid she would cause him embarrassment. "It is next door with my things."

"Don't worry. I'll sneak you back in there." Cole grabbed the blanket off his bed then draped it around her as carefully as he would wrap a fine porcelain vase. Fighting to think only of Sunny, of the night and gifts they'd shared, he pulled her against the length of his body and lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger. "I forgot to ask. How are you this morning, Sunshine? Do you hurt? Are you all right?"

"Umm," she
hummed,
her eyes serene and heavy lidded. "I feel nothing but this happy tingling everywhere. I feel
so very
alive." She could have added "in love," but sensed somehow that this information would burden rather than please him.

Something in her expression, something other than physical contentment, stirred him even as it set off a series of alarms. He'd promised her nothing and she'd accepted the night spent in his arms as just that. It sounded simple at the time. Why didn't it
feel
simple now? Cole indulged himself, gazed on her perfect features and cherry-stained mouth, and suddenly understood that if he didn't release her soon, the promises would fade away.

With considerable effort, he stepped aside. "We'd better hit the trail. I feel a change in the weather, one that will have us arriving at the ranch soaking wet if we don't leave soon."

Sensing he'd reached some kind of uneasy truce with himself, Sunny chewed on her bottom lip and gave him a short nod.
"My dress?"

"Oh, yeah.
Sure." Cole opened the door a crack and when he was sure the hall was empty, he slid over to the adjoining room and fit the key in the lock. Then he motioned, and she scurried past him into her room.

Backing away, he said, "I'll arrange for a quick bite to eat and get the horses ready while you're dressing." At the sound of approaching footsteps, he hastily added, "Stay in here. I'll come back for you after I've made all the arrangements."

After he was gone, Sunny twirled and sashayed over to the dressing table. She pulled the gold and pearl brush through her long hair, still feeling deliciously feminine, and helped herself to several pats of lilac-scented powder before slipping into her new clothes. Was Cole feeling the same things she did this morning?
she
wondered. What had been going through his mind as he held her near the doorway, or when he held her all through the night? Suddenly missing Moonstar again, wishing she could ask the questions she thought she'd never want the answers to, Sunny drew in a long breath as thoughts of her mother opened the valves of her heart, flooding her with pain and a sense of loss.

Then she waited.

The minutes ticked by to thirty, and then to an hour. Restless and worried, Sunny began pacing back and forth in front of her window. Where was Cole? Had he run into some trouble, found
himself
short of money, or had he decided not to take her with him? Her imagination running wild, it was impossible for her to wait any longer. Tucking her brother's clothing in her empty pouches, she draped them over her arm and slid out of her room into the empty hallway.

She listened for several minutes, hoping to hear Cole's welcome footsteps, but all was silent. Cautiously, Sunflower made her way to the top of the stairs,
then
started a quick descent. Determined to avoid any kind of trouble, she made straight for the front doors, her head low and eyes cast down, and pushed her way into the morning sunshine. Then she collided heavily with the base of a willow tree.

"Hey," the tree bellowed as it jerked her off her feet and squeezed her against its trunk. "
Cain't
ya
look where
yer
walkin
', squaw lady?"

Sunny's eyes flew open and she pressed her forearms against the chest of the biggest man she'd ever seen. "Let me go," she
demanded,
her struggles impotent against such superior strength.

"I ain't gonna hurt you none."

But trapped in the arms of this grizzly of a man, Sunny panicked and began to fight in earnest. She kicked out, catching the man in the knees and shins, and drove her fingers towards his eyes as she cried out, "Let me go."

"Put her down, Jesse."

Cole's voice, calm and without malice or warning, reached the big man's ears. He lowered the woman to the wooden planks and stepped back, ducking her flailing arms and driving feet.

"Howdy, Mr. Fremont," he said, backing away.
"I just
ketched
her.
I didn't hurt
no one
."

"I know, Jesse. It's all right." Cole waited for the slow-moving giant to make his way inside the hotel before he turned on Sunny. "Dammit all, didn't I tell you to stay in your room and wait for me there?"

Still shaken, Sunny kept an eye on the door where the monster had disappeared and said, "Yes, but you took so long, I got worried."

"Wasn't your run-in with the desk
clerk
enough?" he went on as unreasonable anger tore through him. "Do you have to go looking for trouble?"

"I was worried about you," she snapped, a fever building in her eyes. "All I did was
walk
out the door and accidentally bump into that huge
man
.
Then he grabbed me."

"He didn't mean you any harm. Jesse is a friendly sort." Cole jerked off his hat and dragged frustrated fingers through his hair. "I told you to wait for me. This wouldn't have happened if you'd have stayed in your room where you belong."

"I am thinking perhaps I don't even belong in this town."

"Oh, hell," he grumbled, unwilling to consider her words, afraid she may have voiced his own thoughts. "That's not it at all." Cole brought the Stetson back to his head and worked it into the correct position. Then he blew out a heavy sigh. "Let's just forget it and get on out of here before anything else happens."

Sunny measured him for a long moment, that sickening thought swirling in her mind again. He was embarrassed by her, ashamed of her heritage. Would the fact she was a half-breed disturb him as much at his family's ranch?

"Sunny? You
coming?"
Cole offered his elbow, his green eyes filled with apology.

Shrugging, Sunny accepted his arm and allowed him to usher her back inside the hotel for a meal of fried ham, potatoes, and biscuits. Vacillating between righteous anger and acquittal, she kept her silence as they ate. He
had
told her to stay in her room,
had
come back as he said he would, so why shouldn't he have been angry when he found her outside the hotel captured by what had to be the son of Goliath? She didn't know. And yet she did. She couldn't understand. Or maybe she understood only too well.

Sunny ate without interest, and her meal lay in her stomach like a sack of corn flour while she and Cole walked back through the hotel and crossed the street to the livery stable.

"Charlie?" he called after they entered the barn.

A chestnut-skinned man with long black braids appeared from around the corner of a stall.
"Ah, Mr. Fremont.
Your mounts are ready."

"So are we. Please fetch them."

His gaze lingering on the half-breed woman, the blacksmith gave a short nod and went after the horses.

Well aware of Charlie's interest in Sunny, remembering his own thoughts about pairing the two of them, Cole grimaced and his mustache twitched as he informed her of the new traveling arrangements.

"The reason it took me so long to get back to the hotel this morning was the search Charlie and I went through to find a lady's saddle for your pony. I'm afraid even the smallest one was too big for Paddy," Cole explained. "I'll tie him alongside Sage and you can ride the outlaw's horse."

Her eyes wide, Sunny gasped as the blacksmith appeared with the horses. "But I cannot."