Savage storm (25 page)

Gabrielle made no attempt to contain the fires of her temper as she lashed out at him. "That was totally unfair, unprincipled, and unethical, to say nothing of unkind. Did you think me too naive to understand your purpose in inviting me here, or merely too stupid to leave once I had come?"

Jason made no reply to that insulting question. He simply got to his feet, and lifting the startled beauty into his arms, he carried her back through the trees to the pond. Walking to the edge, he tossed her into the chill waters. That bit of horseplay did not cool her mood, however; it only enraged her all the more. She scooped up a handful of water and threw it at him as she screamed exactly what she thought of him in words he had not even imagined she knew.

The whole scene struck Jason as highly amusing, and he tore off his clothing and dove in, laughing at the anger which made Gabrielle impossible to hold. She twisted away from his grasp, as graceful in the water as she was upon the land, but each time she struggled to climb out of the pond he pulled her right back into the depths, dunking her for good measure because he was in such high spirits.

*Tirst you tried to get me drunk, and now you want to drown me?" she screamed as she tried to slap the grin from his face. But he caught her wrist and pulled her slippery form against his chest as he wrapped his other arm around her narrow waist.

"Oh, no. I have something entirely different in mind." With one backward step he moved out into the pond so she would have to swim to keep her head above the water while he could stand quite comfortably upon the moss-covered rocks. He watched the light in her eyes change from confusion to surprise as she realized exactly what he meant to do, what he

was doing, and quite easily too since she had no way to escape his embrace. His expression was a taunting one as he drew her hips to his but he did not trust himself to speak and so lowered his mouth to hers, cutting off her last chance for resistance.

Even with the cool water surrounding her, Gabrielle felt only the heat of Jason's forceful embrace. It was useless to fight him when she did not truly want to and when she could not have summoned the strength required had she earnestly desired to elude him. He was far too clever a man when it came to making love. The range of his experience made it impossible to avoid his advances since she could never anticipate his next move, let alone successfully escape it. He had betrayed her trust, yet her own heart was the true villain. She placed her arms about his neck as she wrapped herself around him, lost again in the magic of his passionate embrace.

Jason could only marvel at the sweetness of Gabrielle's touch. What she must think of him he could not even imagine, but he felt this enchanting creature had been created solely to give pleasure to him. Her vibrant body began to melt into his, setting his blood aflame despite the chill of the water in which they floated so languidly. He thought for no more than a split second that they just might drown; then he ceased to worry. To die while making love was too pleasant a way to meet death to cause alarm. His body shook with the rapture she gave, but he held back until the madness of ecstasy swept away his will and in that final thrill he again belonged more to her than himself.

Leaving the pond, they wrapped themselves in the blanket, their bodies entwined as the warmth of the sun filled them with still another kind of peace. There was just noway to refuse this man, Gabrielle realized, for even when she said no very loudly his affection too swiftly turned her response to yes.

"Is this what you mean by drifting in the wind while you seize each opportunity which presents itself and take it to the limit?"

The sun was high overhead, they had no time to discuss anything now; so Jason chuckled at her question as he got up to

pull on his clothes. She had never been the least bit shy with him, nor did he feel any need to turn away as he dressed. E^ch knew every line of the other's body too well for such a pretense. He knew he was handsome and she was a beauty, so modesty was an unnecessary virtue in his view, "You are the one who makes me grab what opportunities I can, Gabrielle. I would prefer that our relationship were a much more regular one.

He was quite serious now, logical, practical, not the ardent lover she found it impossible to resist. Gabrielle tried to strike the same tone. "You want me to meet you more often, but still in secret? With your assurance, of course, that I will not have to bear the consequences of such an illicit affair alone?"

Jason tossed her dress to her as he replied angrily, "You still don't trust me, do you?"

"How can I when I know I will soon be regarded as a 'tiresome responsibility'?" Gabrielle shook out her lace-trimmed lingerie and pulled it on slowly, wondering why the fact she was nude did not bother her. She decided it was ridiculous to consider such a silly thing after fhe delicious intimacy they'd shared that morning. Although she did not wish to be treated so casually, she had only herself to blame. Jason was a man after all, and a young, virile one who could be expected to want exactly what he'd taken from her. She was the fool to give love so eagerly when he gave nothing in return.

Jason's gaze darkened as he watched the young woman he adored slip back into her clothes. She adjusted her garments with a few smooth touches and then combed out her long auburn hair with her fingertips. When she paused to glance up at him she looked as though she had been doing nothing more than fishing, but he'd not forget what had truly happened between them. He could think of no way to give her the reassurance she seemed to crave and so he did not try. When she could not feel the depth of his devotion in his caress, how could mere words convey his regard for her? "I'll come back for the blanket and the other things later. We'll just go back to

the wagon train and say half the fish are yours. No one will suspect a thing at this hour of the day/'

'That is why you chose it?" Cabrielle asked curiously, wondering if he would admit how devious his plan had been.

"Precisely. Now let's go."

Jason was as lost in thought as Cabrielle when they started down the rocky hill. He was thinking of the many women he had known and he found he could compare none to her. He was the only man she had known, which he certainly could not say about any of the others. He had been with women he hadn't paid, but he'd not been the first to sample their favors, nor by any stretch of the imagination had he thought he'd be the last. She'd been dangerously close to the truth with her question. He did seize whatever opportunity he had to enjoy being with a woman but—damn it!—none of them had meant anything to him. None had ignited his passion the way she did with no more than the promise of pleasure in her glance. He could not even recall the names of most of the women he'd slept with, hadn't even thought that feat necessary until now. Those encounters had been playful, spur of the moment and brief, and not once filled with the rapture Cabrielle gave in such great abundance. How she had managed to bewitch him so completely he did not know, for the world was filled with beautiful women, and many that could be had for a very reasonable price. He'd had plenty of them, yet their affection had been so empty. He watched her move over the rocks beside the stream in smooth, agile leaps; the path no challenge for one with such easy grace. He longed to be able to read her thoughts. Perhaps she had spoken the truth when she'd said she'd always love Beau. Maybe his cause was truly a hopeless one and her heart would never open to him. He was disgusted with himself then, for in the beginning he had taken this beautiful creature, wishing only to teach her what he thought was one of the most useful of life's lessons. He had treated her as casually as if she were to be his mistress for the trip and nothing more. Indeed, wasn't that what he'd made of her? He'd given her the greatest of pleasure, and taken his

own, but he'd not won her trust, let alone her love. The morning had gone exactly as he'd planned it, so why did he feel nothing but guilt rather than the warm glow of satisfaction he had craved?

Moving ahead along the trail, Gabrielle reached the pond where Jason had been fishing and stopped abruptly, for Sam Duffy was seated in the shade with a fishing line in his hand. Gabrielle could tell by his lopsided grin that he had been waiting for them to appear. She cared little what he might think, but Jason's reaction to Sam's greeting was far more hostile.

"Well if it ain't the righteous Mr. Royal and one of his little brides." Sam nearly drooled, his evil leer had grown so wide. "You picked the wrong boy to carry your messages this time, not that Timothy told me nothing you understand. I just like to keep my eyes open and when I seen you speak with him and then he made a quick dash for Miss MacLaren I put two and two together pretty fast. Now I don't intend to tell nobody about this. I'll stay out of your business as long as you promise to stay out of mine. I don't want neither of you comin' 'round my wife and kids again, or the things you want kept secret is gonna be common knowledge. You understand what I mean? You'll have a bride on your hands no man will be fool enough to take."

"I don't make idle threats, Sam, and I'd advise you not to either. You make the mistake of touching one hair on your wife's head, or of saying one unkind word about Miss MacLaren and you're a dead man." Jason spoke in a soft, low tone that made his words all the more terrifying, for it was obvious he meant exactly what he said.

Sam got to his feet, yanking his line from the water and tossing it aside. "Don't you go and threaten me. I know what you been doin', you hear? I seen you in the water and you two sure weren't swimmin' neither!"

'That's it, Sam. You just made your wife a widow." Jason crossed the short distance between them with a flying leap, his

first punch catching the obnoxious man full in the mouth and knocking him clear off his feet. Sam never had a chance to run or to defend himself. E^ch time he fell down Jason yanked him to his feet and struck him again, delivering each blow with more power until the man's face was completely unrecognizable, a mask of blood covering his badly swollen features.

Gabrielle had seen plenty of fist fights, but they had been scuffles between boys. Never had she seen a man so intent on murder as Jason was now. He was methodically beating Sam Duffy to death and for what? Because he was ashamed that the man knew they were lovers? That was hardly a capital offense. She tried to grab his arm, to stop him while there was still some spark of life left in poor Sam Duffy, but Jason shoved her aside and, picking up the unconscious man, tossed him into the middle of the pond. Then he calmly bent down to retrieve the fish he'd left tethered to the line at the water's edge.

"Gjme on, let's go."

"You're not going to leave him to drown!" Gabrielle cried out in disbelief, appalled by the brutality she'd just witnessed.

*'He deserves no better. I warned him and he asked for it. That was his mistake, not mine," Jason explained matter-of-fact ly as he turned to go.

"You coward!" Gabrielle shouted at his back. But there was no time to argue with Jason when Sam lay floating face down in the pond. She bent down on her knees and leaning out as far as she could, caught hold of Sam's trousers and pulled his limp body to shore. He was heavy, but Jason gave her no help as she struggled to pull him onto dry ground. When she rolled him over on his stomach and pressed down on his back, water poured from his mouth and then he began to retch as he came fully awake. As she moved away from Duffy she was surprised to see that Jason had not left. He stood by, watching her with an expression she could only describe as amazement.

"Why would you want to save him?" he asked angrily. "He'll only repay your kindness by spreading ugly rumors about us we won't be able to stop."

"So what?" Gabrielle replied instantly. "My reputation is not worth any man's life. Take your blasted fish and go on back to the wagon train. No one will ever suspect we were together since you'd rather kill than admit it. Mr. Duffy here just happened to slip while he was climbing and fell into the pond, isn't that right, Sam?" She nudged his shoulder with a forceful shove and he nodded since he was coughing so badly he could not reply in words.

Jason knew he had no choice but to go. Gabrielle had so little sense at times he knew he'd just be wasting his breath to try to make her see reason. Her reputation was worth the lives of more than a dozen men like Duffy, and he'd not allow her to suffer when he was the one who could not control his desire for her. "Get him back down into camp as soon as you can. I'll send Paul up to help if you aren't back in ten minutes."

"Don't bother!" Gabrielle called after him, thoroughly disgusted with his ruthless tactics. Turning to Sam, she shook him again, "Well, you heard him. As soon as you think you can stand I'll help you back down the trail."

Sam tried to get up on his hands and knees, but fell back down, too badly hurt to attempt to crawl. He tried to catch his breath, but he'd never been so frightened or in such terrible pain. He began to sob like a homeless puppy.

As disgusted with Sam as she was with Jason, Gabrielle stood up and began to pace by his side. "You brought this all on yourself, Sam. Mr. Royal is a proud man and he'll not allow you to slander his name or mine." Of course it wasn't slander, she knew, merely the truth. "Now I'll wait here for as long as it takes you to pull yourself together because I don't want you to fall back into the water and drown after I went to the trouble of pulling you out."

Sam continued to weep pathetically, his voice hoarse as he begged her to forgive him. "I won't never breathe a word of none of it, miss. I swear I won't." He knew Jason Royal had meant to kill him, that he had not succeeded was due only to this slip of a girl. Duffy was so terrified he could not

stop shaking.

Gabrielle tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the man to rise. She didn't give a damn what he said about her, wouldn't have cared if the whole camp had seen her making love to Jason as though she were a mermaid accustomed to such erotic play underwater, but Jason clearly had another view. A chill of fear shot up her spine as she realized he'd promised to marry her should she become pregnant. Did she truly want to give birth to a child fathered by a murderer, or to call such a man husband? Sam moaned loudly then, reminding her that Jason was not really a murderer, at least not yet. But they still had a long way to go before they reached Oregon and she could not bear to consider what might happen along the way.