Moontide Embrace (Historical Romance) (22 page)

"This I do not know, but I will find out after I take you
to the white man. The fire happened two nights ago."

Liberty looked astonished. "How is it possible that my
sister kept me drugged for two days?"

Zippora applied the oars to the water, and the boat
quickly skimmed over the surface. "We will talk of that later. Right now I want to get you to my cabin as quickly
as possible."

The journey downriver seemed endless. By now Lib
erty's head had cleared, and she was most anxious to see
Judah. She did not know what had happened in the days
she had been drugged, but as soon as she could, she intended to go to Judah's grandfather and tell him that
his grandson was innocent. Liberty didn't care if Bandera
faced ruin and disgrace for her part in the deception; she
only knew that Judah had to be cleared.

Judah was dreaming of Bandera. He could feel her soft
hand on his forehead, cooling his fevered brow. Her smile
melted his heart as she took his hand and held it to her
cheek. He could feel that her face was wet with tears. Was she crying for him? Surely he had only dreamed she had
betrayed him. Bandera was too angelic—too honest—to
lie. "Bandera," he muttered. "Bandera."

Liberty held Judah's hand to her lips. Even after being betrayed by her sister, he still called out to Bandera. If it
would make him feel better, she would pretend to be Bandera.

She stared at his pale face, then she softly kissed his lips. "Sleep," she whispered. "Sleep, so you can heal, Judah. I will stay beside you until you wake."

Judah's hand tightened on hers, and his chest rose and
fell with a relieved sigh.

Throughout the night his fever raged, and he called out to Bandera many times, but it was always Liberty who
soothed his nightmares, and Liberty who spoke to him,
imitating her sister's voice.

10

Judah was gripped in the thralls of a nightmare world.
When he opened his eyes, he found dark, unfamiliar
surroundings. His head was throbbing painfully, and he felt as if the bed beneath him was spinning. He clung to
the headboard until his knuckles whitened, while trying to
bring his eyes into focus. He squeezed his eyes together
tightly, hoping the room would right itself and the sick
feeling in his stomach would go away. How did I get here?
he wondered, and where am I?

Slowly, fragments of his memory fell into place, and his
mind began to clear. It was as if he had stepped out of a
thick fog into the light. He remembered the treachery that
had brought him to his present circumstances—whatever
those circumstances were. He now suffered all the cutting
pain of betrayal. It did not matter to Judah that Sebastian had tricked him, but it tore at his heart that the beautiful Bandera had helped Sebastian.

"No, not Bandera," he moaned, hoping his memory was at fault. Surely he had misunderstood what had
happened in the barn. Bandera was too sweet to cause
another person harm. "No, she would not betray me," he
said aloud.

"It is better not to talk." A soft voice came to him from
out of the darkened room. "Close your eyes and try to sleep." He felt a cool hand on his brow, and it immediately soothed him. He thought he could hear little Liberty's voice, feel her cool hand touch his cheek.

"Say you will stay with me. Swear it." He tried to focus his eyes so he could see in the dark, but all he could make
out was a shadowy outline.

Liberty felt tears drop from her lashes onto her cheeks
and roll down them. In his fevered mind, he must have again mistaken her for Bandera. What harm would it do
to bring him comfort by pretending to be her sister? The
room was dark, and he couldn't see her face. All she had to do was imitate Bandera's voice.

"I did not betray you, Judah. If I had, would I be here
now?"

His hand tightened on hers. "Say you love me," he
demanded. "Say it!"

A sob was building up in Liberty's throat, and she
could hardly speak. "I love you with all my heart," she
choked out.

In the darkness, she could feel him groping for her face. His fingers outlined her mouth as he brought her head down to his. "Kiss me, sweet love. Let me once again feel your soft lips against mine."

Liberty did not know what was expected of her, but she
didn't see any harm in pretending to be Bandera if she
just gave him one kiss. No one would ever know. His hot
mouth settled on her trembling lips, causing Liberty's breath to catch in her throat and her whole body to be
filled with an emotion she could not put a name to. She
quickly drew away, fearing what these new feelings might
evoke.

Judah's voice broke through the stillness as his search
ing hands found and clamped on her arm. "No, do not
leave me in my nightmare world. If you have any regard
for me, stay for a while."

"I . . . shouldn't."

"I need you. Lie beside me."

His plea was Liberty's undoing. She would do anything
for Judah if he needed her. What did it matter that he
thought she was someone else? She eased her weight onto
the bed, fearing she might cause him pain. When he
pulled her against his fever-hot body, she tried to hold
herself rigid. She had never been this close to a man
before. Since Judah's chest was bare, Liberty feared he
might not be wearing clothing beneath the patchwork quilt.

His hand moved softly from her shoulder to her
breasts. Liberty's first instinct was to push him away, but
she didn't. She decided that if she lay very still he would
realize he was being far too bold and stop.

At first Judah did not move the hand that rested
against her tender young breast, and he was seemingly
content to gently cup it in his palm. When his thumb
slowly circled the taut nipple, however, Liberty felt waves
of excitement awaken in every nerve-end of her body.
Through the thin material of her linen gown, his finger
circled around and around, softly, sensuously.

Liberty caught his hand and moved it away. "You must
not, Judah. This isn't right."

"If I do no more than touch you, can there be harm in
that?"

"You know there is."

"I need something to hold onto." He moistened his dry lips and Liberty saw that his eyes were glazed with fever.

What if Judah where to die! she thought frantically.

"Help me get through the pain," he pleaded, striking a
cord of pity in Liberty's heart.

She suddenly felt older than her fifteen years. The man
she loved was in agony, and only she could help him.
"Hush, hush, my darling. You are very ill. If you will but
rest, everything will look brighter in the morning." She
tried to soothe him, much as a mother would soothe a
troubled child.

"Stay with me," he begged, clasping her closely and
burying his face against her soft breasts. Dear lord, he
was burning up with fever. She could feel the heat of his
body even through her gown. Liberty wished that Zippora
would return because she would know how to help Judah.

Tears wet her cheeks, and sobs built up from deep inside. The pain she felt was so intense that it ripped at her heart. "I will not leave you," she promised. "I will help you get through this night, my love."

Taking Judah's face between her hands Liberty raised it up to her own. Softly, almost shyly she pressed her lips
against his.

A low sound tore from his throat, as he tasted the
saltiness of her lips. "You do care," he breathed. "You do
love me." In Judah's mind Bandera's face faded and Liberty's materialized. "I tried not to love you. You are
too young and I would only hurt you. But I cannot help
myself. I could sooner die than forget you."

"Oui,
I do love you, Judah."

"Let me make love to you," he groaned, reaching for
the fastenings on her gown. "If I be damned for it, I will
die a happy man."

For a moment, Liberty had forgotten Judah believed
her to be her sister. The pain of being reminded did not discourage her from bringing him comfort. Let him think
she was Bandera if it would bring him peace.

Liberty stiffened as his burning lips settled on hers. She
gasped at the tender feelings he put into the kiss. Surely it
was the kiss of a man in love—a man who worshiped the
woman whose lips he devoured. She parted her lips and his tongue slid into her mouth, tasting the sweetness.

Everything was so new to Liberty. She battled with her
ignorance of not knowing what was happening to her.
Her young body reacted wildly to his every touch. As his
tongue moved in and out of her mouth, building up a tempo, heat was building in her veins, and finally her body was trembling with thrill after thrill. Driven by a deep need she could not control she touched her tongue to his.

Instantly Judah pulled her so tightly against him that
she could scarcely breath, and his hammering heart beat a quick tempo against her breasts. His need had reached a
fevered pitch. He craved the soft body that was driving
him slowly out of his mind. The soft gentle fragrance he
always associated with Liberty was weaving through his
brain.

"I love you," he whispered. "You belong to me."

Liberty was so carried away by the new feelings she was
experiencing that she was only vaguely aware that Judah
had slipped her gown off her shoulders. When his hands
untied the laces on her chemise, she could only moan a weak protest that was quickly smothered beneath a sear
ing kiss.

His lips played with the tips of her silken lashes. Then,
slowly, and with mind-destroying patience, his mouth
moved across her lips, down her arched neck, to find bliss
in her firm satiny breasts. His tongue circled, tasted, then
circled again with featherlike softness.

No longer did Judah feel the pain of his wounds. He
was driven by stronger feelings —by a need to possess this
female creature who was driving him out of his mind. He
had never felt so alive.

He realized that she was inexperienced, but he would be
tender and loving with her. He would not complete the
act, but would save her virginity for their wedding night.
She was fever in his brain, fire in his blood. He would
make this a night she would remember. Afterward, they
would be married and he would take her away from this
hell.

When she raised her trembling fingers to touch the rough outline of his face, he kissed them one by one.
Again his mind was becoming fuzzy, and he realized that
fever was clouding his reasoning. Tomorrow would be
time enough to worry about the future; tonight he would
be in paradise.

Liberty bit her lips as Judah's tongue moved across one
breast, leaving a moist trail, to tease and torment the
other. She groaned with pleasure and arched her body,
wanting to be closer to the heat of his mouth. Clasping
his arm, she felt muscles bulge against her fingers. She
vaguely remembered her mother telling Bandera it was a
woman's duty to please her husband. How could it be a duty to please a man when there was so much pleasure.

As Judah's hand moved over Liberty's hips, the breath seemed trapped in her lungs —she couldn't breathe. She
wanted to be a part of him and for him to be a part of
her. Perhaps by using her body, she could burn Bandera
out of his mind forever.

With that thought in mind, she decided to forget about
maidenly shyness. Tonight would give Judah everything
she had to give.

"I must stop now," he groaned. "I should never have
allowed it to go this far, but I want you with every beat of
my heart."

Liberty could feel him moving away from her. She couldn't let him go. She would lose him if he stopped now. She had to give him something to remember her
by—something she could hold on to after he went away.
Boldly, her hand moved across his broad chest to circle
his stomach. In her innocence, she wanted to please him.
When she heard his breath come out in a hiss, she knew
she had succeeded.

"No," he groaned. "You don't know what you are doing."

"I do not want to you to stop," she whispered, feeling the muscles in his stomach go taut beneath her fingers.

"I must. I do not want you to suffer the consequences of this night."

"I will pay any price to make you happy," she declared
softly.

Liberty discovered that Judah wore nothing beneath the
blanket when her hand brushed against his swollen, throbbing, hardness. She quickly drew back, but he grabbed her hand, clasping it in a firm grip. "You must
not touch me," he whispered, trying to control his desire.
"You must not . . . you . . . shouldn’t...”

Liberty extracted her hand and placed it against his
stomach, unable to venture further down. When Judah
gasped, she gloried in the power she had over him. No
one had ever told her that a woman could control a man
with the touch of her hand. In the next moment Liberty
realized her mistake. She was no longer in control. She had pushed him too far.

Judah gathered her to him, pressing her into the soft
mattress. "I cannot help myself. I cannot stop, now."
Liberty didn't know if it was a plea or an apology, but it
did not matter. All that mattered was the hot hand that was moving across her abdomen, spreading her legs
apart —the finger that circled her moist opening, teasing,
then slowly, softly moving into the entrance.

At first Liberty tried to pull away. She hadn't meant
things to go this far, had she? His hot breath touched her
cheek as his hand moved nearer to paradise. "No," she
moaned, feeling as if she would die if he stopped.