Beyond The Horizon (26 page)

After being gone for hours, Shannon thought the room exceptionally warm, but she didn’t possess the energy to analyze that confusing fact. She was tired; it had been a long, exhausting night and she had much to think about. Shrugging out of her coat, she slowly began to undress. An oath escaped her lips as her fingers fumbled with the hooks at the back of her dress.

“Do you need help, Little Firebird?”

He stepped from the shadows—a tall, powerful man with bold, chiseled features. He was everything she remembered, and more. Thick, rippling muscles corded his arms and thighs, and his big hands were as gentle as she remembered as they brushed hers aside to unfasten the hooks she found difficult to manipulate.

“Blade, where did you come from?” Whirling, she ended up in his arms.

“From the looks of things, I didn’t arrive any too soon. What in the hell were you doing with Clive Bailey?”

Blade, forget Bailey. Just kiss me. I can’t believe you’re real.”

He bent his head to taste lightly, meaning only to prove he was flesh and blood. But his intent was burned away by the volatile flame that ignited within him the moment their lips met. The feel of his lips against her mouth was the most exquisite sensation Shannon had ever experienced. Fire shot through her, searing her senses. She sighed in abject surrender, her eyes closing. His tongue was slow and hot and gentle, sliding between her lips, touching her teeth, the roof of her mouth, the inside of her cheeks.

Blade had never wanted Shannon more; he needed to thrust his love deep inside this beautiful, headstrong, unpredictable woman. He needed her strength and strong spirit to make his life whole again. The Grandfather Spirit had ordained their fates even before their births. Suddenly the tenderness and care yielded to a hard, fierce passion and Blade drew a ragged breath, pulling away so he could continue unhooking her dress. There was an urgency about him that communicated itself to Shannon and she responded by tearing at his clothes.

A slow smile curved Blade’s sensuous lips. “Easy, love, we’ve got all night.”

“I can’t wait, Blade. I’ve dreamed of being with you like this, but I never thought it would happen again.”

Her clothes fell away like magic and she stepped out of them, watching Blade as he tossed aside his trousers. Then he pulled her into his arms, holding her against him, savoring the feel of her smooth flesh against his own hair-roughened skin. His kiss was like a shaft of hot steel that pierced deeply into her, throbbing and pulsing low in her belly. She gripped his shoulders tightly, afraid he’d disappear if she let him go. His mouth parted from hers, his eyes dark, burning ebony as he gazed deep into hers. He swept a tendril of hair from her face, his voice both tender and hoarse.

“You aren’t the only one who has dreamed of this moment, Little Firebird. I had to come back, if only for this brief time. I need you—you’re my life, my breath, my very existence. I’m going to make love to you and when I’m done we’re going to make love again—and again.”

His words drifted off as he acted upon them, his palm cupping the fullness of her breast. Instinctively her flesh responded to his touch, and the coral nipple hardened against the caress of his hand.

“You’re incredible,” he mouthed against her lips as his hand moved down in a trail of fire that left her gasping for breath.

Suddenly Shannon was swept off her feet as Blade carried her to the bed, stretching his lean length beside her.

His hand wandered boldly over her body, followed closely by his lips, tasting her skin with his tongue, drawing a damp trail from her mouth to a hardened nipple, sucking it into his mouth. His warm breath sent a delicious shiver through her as gentle hands explored her soft woman’s triangle, stroking and probing with bold insistence and tenderness.

Desiring to bring him the same joy he gave her, her hand moved down to close around him. A jolt passed through him at her touch and a low growl came from throat. His hand continued its exploration of the golden down at the top of her legs, his fingers slipping into the dark, moist cavern, and Shannon cried out at the intense pleasure his stroking fingers evoked. When he took his fingers away she knew an empty ache that only Blade could fill.

He whispered her name in a raw, shaky voice and slid his mouth downward along the delicious surface of her skin to that place between her legs where his hands worked so diligently. She cried out, jerking in spasms as his hands slid beneath her buttocks and he teased her with the first touch of his tongue. She writhed and twisted and arched against him as his tongue probed and parted, delving deeply, tasting. Her body surged against him and she moaned, tossing in wild abandon.

He allowed her no mercy, for he was determined to have all of her. He sought the tiny bud of greatest pleasure, his tongue a flame setting her afire. Then she burst and exploded, waves of absolute rapture erupting through her with shattering intensity. Suddenly he gripped her ankles, parted them wide, and settled his weight in the cradle formed by her thighs. Then she felt the huge hot shaft of him probing hard against her, and she was soaring. Moments later Blade joined her and they flew to towering mountain tops to touch the stars. It was several minutes before either could talk.

A tiny sigh slipped past Shannon’s lips. “I felt you in every part of me.”

His fingers tenderly brushed the chestnut curls away from her forehead. “Little Firebird, you
are
a part of me. What am I going to do without you?”

Alarmed, Shannon cried out, “What do you mean? You’re not leaving again, are you?”

“I must. Yellow Dog needs me. Those survivors from the village have no food, no shelter. They’ll starve to death this winter if I don’t return to help them.”

“You found your grandfather! Is he well?”

“As well as can be expected given his great age. Jumping Buffalo helped him escape the carnage, but it has been difficult for him. My mother’s death was a bitter blow.”

“What did you learn about the attack?”

“Little outside of what I already knew. Mad Wolf wasn’t in the village. They hadn’t seen him in weeks. Lieutenant Goodman refused to believe Yellow Dog and ordered the destruction you saw. The survivors have nothing—no food, no clothing, no shelter.”

“If what you say is true, then why did you return to Fort Laramie?”

“For one thing, I promised I’d let you know about Yellow Dog. And I came to buy blankets and food.”

“And that’s all?” Shannon asked with keen disappointment.

“No, Little Firebird, I came to see you. I had to see you again before …”

Though Blade longed to tell Shannon he loved her, he deliberately refrained from saying the words. Too many obstacles stood in their way, too many years of hatred between their people made marriage impossible. Marriage between them would make her an outcast among her own kind.

“Blade, do you love me?” Shannon asked bluntly. Though Blade had never given voice to the words, Shannon’s heart told her he did love her and she longed to hear him say it.

“What if I did?” Blade challenged, deliberately hardening his heart against the pain of knowing he could never have her. “What good would it do us? Would it make our good-bye any less painful?”

“You’re leaving for good?” Shannon asked in a small voice.

“Grandfather needs me. I’m going to live with the Sioux for as long as I’m able to help. I have nothing to offer you. Go to Idaho, Shannon. Your family is expecting you. Find a husband who can offer you more than his heart.”

“I don’t have to go to Idaho,” Shannon said stubbornly. “My family would understand. I have a job and can support myself for as long as need be. If you loved me, if you wanted me, I’d wait forever.”

“I’m not that selfish, Little Firebird. I wouldn’t ask for that kind of sacrifice. Marriage between us is forbidden. I couldn’t bear to see you condemned by your people. My Indian blood makes me an object of scorn and hatred. I am a savage.”

“I don’t care what people say. You’re my savage. I’ll live my life as I see fit. I’d leave with you now if you’d let me.”

“My sweet, sweet love. I can’t ask such a sacrifice of you. Winters are harsh in Wyoming Territory and I’d be a fool to take you with me no matter how desperately I wanted you,” Blade confided in a hushed tone.

“Then I’ll wait,” Shannon vowed staunchly.

“Many things could happen to change your mind,” Blade predicted. “I’ll not ask you to wait for me, but if you’re still here when I return …” His words trailed off, ripe with hope yet asking nothing.

“Love me again, Blade. Love me for all the empty tomorrows.”

“I will, Little Firebird, but you’re not going to distract me so easily this time. First tell me what you were doing with Clive Bailey.”

A long sigh escaped Shannon’s lips. She had thought Blade sufficiently diverted and had forgotten all about Clive Bailey. But he was too astute for that.

“How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know you have some devious plan in mind. I know you detest the man, yet you deliberately led him to believe you’d marry him.”

“How do you know that?”

“I was listening at the window where you and Bailey conveniently stopped to talk,” Blade revealed. “I heard him bragging about his wealth, and I heard your probing questions. What in the hell are you trying to prove?”

“I only wanted to help,” Shannon said, growing animated. “I know I can get him to confess to selling guns to the Indians. He’s already offered to show me the gold he received from their sale. Major Vance isn’t too happy about what I’m doing, but…”

“Wade knows about your prying?” Blade roared, appalled. “I’ll have his hide when I see him tomorrow.”

“Don’t blame Major Vance, Blade. He told me to stay away from Clive, but I wouldn’t listen. If not for those guns, your mother would be alive today. I want to expose him for the slimy toad he is. I want to help in any way I can.”

“The only way you can help is by steering clear of Bailey. Please, Little Firebird, I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”

“Then you do love me!” Shannon cried, jubilant.

“You little fool, of course I love you. Are you happy now that I’ve admitted it?”

“Ecstatic.”

“Will it make the pain of parting any less?”

“It will comfort me while you’re gone,” Shannon said softly.

“Then I love you, Shannon Branigan. I will go to my grave loving you. If I never see you again, my love will sustain me. And if you love me as much as you say, you’ll promise to stay away from Clive Bailey. Leave him to me and Wade.”

“But—”

“No buts, I mean it.”

“Very well,” Shannon acquiesced, “if it means so much to you.”

“I care what happens to you, and Clive Bailey can go to hell. Wade and I will handle him when the time comes. Since that’s all settled,” he said, smiling lazily, “we can concentrate on more important things, like making love again. We’ve hours yet till dawn.”

His hand cupped her bare buttocks, bringing their bodies together in searing rapture. Their breaths merged and became one as his parted lips sought and found hers. The naked hunger that flared between them was both sweet and violent. Her world tilted crazily beneath the urgency of his kisses, carried along in a turbulent storm of passion.

She reached with her hand to hold him, felt him throbbing hot and hard in her grasp, felt his warm seed against her palm, drew in his male scent.

“Now, Blade, now,” she groaned as she raised her body above him and sheathed the pulsing, thickened length of him into the searing heat of her flesh. She fit him like a glove, hot and liquid, moving against him in wild frenzy.

She rode him into ecstasy, making him moan and arch against her while he sucked her firm nipples, drove into her quivering satin with relentless fury. Suddenly he reversed their positions, deliberately slowing the pace, using all his strength to hold back his own release. He wanted it to go on and on, he wanted always to be buried deep inside her. They clung together in desperate yearning as he delved deeper and deeper, consumed by the demand for fulfillment.

Shannon’s body stiffened with pleasure so intense she had to bite her lips to hold back a scream. Blade felt the tiny tremors deep inside her. “Ah sweet, so sweet,” he breathed as if in agony. “I can feel your spasms; so tight, so damn good! Ah, Shannon, I can’t hold back!”

“I—love—you,” Shannon gasped, unable to control the words that flew from her lips.

His restraint burst into shattering release, her words beating against his brain as his body shook with wave after wave of shuddering rapture. When they returned from their incredible journey, they stared at one another for long moments, holding each other, awed into silence by the explosive bliss they had shared.

Unable to speak, Blade’s thoughts ran rampant. Even if they never saw each other again, he had enough sweet memories to last forever. He had but to close his eyes and Shannon would be there. No one could deprive him of the certain knowledge that he was the man who had led her into womanhood and taught her the meaning of passion. In his arms she had become a woman—his woman. And she had given him a taste of the kind of love few people experienced in their lifetime.

“Blade, what are you thinking?”

“That I’d like to wake up with you in my arms like this every day of my life.”