Into the Woods (33 page)

"That was the plan," Vanessa seethed. "Wasn't it?"

Cox shook his head. "Maybe it was your plan, but it was never mine. I just wanted to make those farmers think I would really burn the witch to make it rain. I thought maybe I could slip away while they were occupied planting the stake, but they kept too close an eye on me. I couldn't escape." He narrowed his eyes and nervously shrugged one shoulder as he remembered. "I figured if I disappeared they'd know what was up and let the woman go. But as time went by, and I knew I wasn't going to get away, I kept wondering what was going to happen when they burned her and the rain didn't come."

"It's raining cats and dogs," Vanessa said, her hands balling into tight fists.

Cox lifted his head and looked her square in the eye. With the one wandering eye it was hard to tell, but she was pretty sure he was looking right at her. "She made it rain," he whispered. "The witch, she did it."

"Don't be ridiculous. Matilda Candy is not really a witch."

Cox shook his head. "She is. They tied her to the stake and laid the dried brush and logs around her, and when that Henry fellow set a flame to the brush she lifted her face to the night sky, screamed Harper's name, and the storm moved in. Fast."

"Coincidence," Vanessa muttered.

Cox shook his head again. "She brought the rain. For a few minutes she actually made it snow. I saw it happen."

Vanessa was less concerned by any proof that Matilda Candy really was a witch than by the annoyance that yet another plan had gone wrong. "Where is Harper now?" she asked. With the witch, she assumed. Damn Matilda!

"Henry shot him when he tried to protect the witch. I don't know how bad it is," he said with a touch of regret.

Serves him right! Vanessa thought. If Declan had stayed here, as he should have, he never would've been wounded.

"Where is Henry?" At least he hadn't lost his nerve!

"Dead," Cox whispered.

"The witch or Declan?" she asked, curious but not disturbed.

Cox swallowed hard. "We were riding back to town, and he was hit by lightning. Blew him right off his horse and killed him on the spot. Trent and Brewster said they were going to keep riding out of town and not stop until they hit California." He nodded his ugly head. "I think I should do the same." He hugged his long arms to himself and shivered. "It's cold in here. Are you cold?"

"Cowards, all of you," Vanessa said with a stomp of her foot, ignoring Cox's discomfort. "Matilda Candy is just one tiny woman, and four supposedly capable men can't manage to get rid of her! It appears she truly is in league with the devil."

A calmness came over Cox, and he sneered. "If anyone in Tanglewood is in league with the devil, it's you, Miss Arrington. You have a black soul, a withered heart. You didn't set this up so the rain would come, you planned to have the witch burn because she angered you in some way." He leaned closer to her. "Maybe you do have a pretty face, but on the inside you're every bit as ugly as I am on the outside."

Vanessa lifted her chin haughtily. No one had ever spoken to her so rudely before! This had been a horrid evening, and she would not stand here and abide such insults from this hideous man. "Get out of my house, Mr. Cox."

At that moment, a crack of thunder rattled the house. Cox jumped. "Not yet. I don't intend to end up fried to a crisp like Henry. Besides, I need a drink to warm me up."

She would not waste a drop of her father's fine whiskey on this man. Still, perhaps he'd enjoy the cheap wine Declan had brought over.

She led him into the parlor, where the bottle and two glasses sat on a small table. After what she'd been through tonight, she needed something bracing, herself. She poured two full glasses and handed one to the so-called rainmaker.

"What is this?" Cox asked as he sniffed at his glass.

"Elderberry wine," Vanessa said as she lifted her own glass to her lips. The wine was sweet, common, but rather tasty. And rather pretty, she conceded. It sparkled and twinkled like a finely cut gem.

She drained her glass and so did Raleigh Cox.

Chapter 23

Declan lay, facedown, on the long table in Matilda's main room. Four lamps burned, lighting her way as she cut the wet, bloody shirt from his body.

Outside the storm continued, lashing the house with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning close and far. Matilda felt the storm inside her, too, as if it raged deep in her heart.

She'd found her gift, and as Granny has predicted, it had come when she needed it. But as she looked down at Declan's wounded body, she knew her so-called gift was worthless. She'd trade it in a heartbeat for the healing power another ancestor had possessed.

The bullet had entered his shoulder, and there was no exit wound. She would have to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding. She didn't have time to think about anything else.

She packed the wound to staunch the bleeding while she gathered her supplies: alcohol for sterilizing, a sharp knife, a pair of long tweezers, needle and thread, and more bandages. Once she had what she needed, she stood over Declan and held her breath as she removed the bandage.

"I can do this," she whispered.

"I know you can," he answered, his voice low and watery.

She'd thought he'd passed out, and almost wished she'd been right. She did not want to hurt Declan, but she was about to do just that.

"It doesn't look very deep," she said, trying to sound optimistic. Henry apparently hadn't wielded a powerful weapon; if he had, the bullet would've gone straight through, or else it would have buried itself even deeper in Declan's body. She shuddered at the thought.

"Matilda," Declan said, raising his hand to stop her as she leaned over him with the knife in her hand. "I have to tell you...."

"Later," she interrupted. She didn't want to know what had happened tonight, didn't want to know how Vanessa had reacted upon taking the love potion.

"Now," he insisted.

She would not wait any longer, she would not stand here and watch Declan bleed to death. "Well, you'll just have to talk while I take out this bullet. I'm not going to stand here while you clear your conscience because you think I can't save you."

"Tonight," he whispered, "Vanessa sent for me, I..."

She held her breath and made a small cut so she could work the tweezers into the wound. Declan sucked in his breath, muttered a curse, and passed out.

"Just as well," Matilda said. "I don't think we want to discuss Vanessa while I have a knife to your back."

* * *

Vanessa no longer felt distressed by the evening's events. A strange serenity settled over her. A wondrous heat filled her, from the inside out. Raleigh Cox had calmed down himself, and sat in the wing chair by the window with his long legs stretched before him and his eyes closed. As she stared at him, he opened those eyes and set them on her. And smiled.

Raleigh didn't look so ugly when he smiled, even though his teeth were yellow and crooked and his lips were so thin they were almost nonexistent. There was something charming about his face at the moment, something very attractive. She smiled back.

"Would you care for more wine?" she asked, rising slowly and carrying the decanter to him. He lifted his empty glass, and she refilled it. As he carried the glass to his lips, she took a long swig straight from the decanter. This really was very good elderberry wine.

"What happened to your dress?" Raleigh asked, reaching up to boldly lay his long fingers over the stain on her bodice. The tips of his fingers touched her nipple, sending a spark of desire shooting through her body. She shuddered in response and closed her eyes.

"It's wine," she said weakly. "I spilled it."

He took the decanter from her and set it aside before pulling her onto his wet lap. Without a moment's hesitation he laid his wide mouth over the wine stain and sucked the nipple and the stained fabric into his mouth. Her knees went weak. She moaned aloud and closed her eyes.

She had always loved the way Johnny made her feel when he touched her, the excitement, the wickedness, the ultimate pleasure. But she had never spun out of control the way she did as Raleigh sucked and nibbled at her covered breast. Her hands shook to touch him, her insides quaked.

"You really should get out of these damp clothes," she said breathlessly, tearing at the buttons of Raleigh's shirt, pushing the wet fabric off his shoulders. "Why, it's no wonder that you're feeling a chill." She touched his skin eagerly, caressing his narrow shoulders, his hairless chest, his protruding ribs. He felt a little clammy, and indeed cold, but every breath she took made her want him more.

Her gown was low cut, as she'd planned to tease that fool Declan Harper to distraction. She was glad she'd chosen this gown for the evening, because right now, perched in Raleigh's lap and growing more excited with every passing heartbeat, all she had to do to free herself was tug the material a few inches lower. She heard a stitch or two pop, but paid no mind as the rainmaker's lips closed over her bare nipple and he sucked gently.

She melted against him, held his head, and guided him against her as he took her into his beautiful mouth. The caresses he lavished on her were exciting and satisfying—for a while. Soon she wanted more.

"Harder," she demanded. "Use your tongue and your teeth." He did.

She ran her fingers through his soggy hair, clasped his head and held him tightly to her breast. "That's right," she said, closing her eyes and reveling in the demand of his hungry mouth on her breast. She rocked against him. "Deeper," she whispered. "Don't be gentle with me, my love." He wasn't.

When Raleigh slowly took his mouth from her, she grasped his face in her hands and tilted his head back so she could lower her head and kiss his tempting lips. There was such power in his kiss, such wonderful promise. His mouth was wet, soft, irresistible. As she thrust her tongue deep into his mouth, she knew this was the man she'd waited for all her life, the man she was destined to be with.

"Make love to me," she whispered when she pulled her lips from his. "I want you to be my first. My first true lover, the first and only man to be inside me."

"What about that Johnny?" he whispered, distrust in his eyes.

She shook her head swiftly. "I... I did kiss him, on occasion," she explained, keeping her account simple.

Raleigh didn't need the details of her relationship with Johnny. "But I never allowed him to take a husband's liberties." She caught his eyes with hers and gave him her most seductive gaze. "I was saving that privilege for you."

Raleigh grinned and tossed up her skirt, reaching beneath the petticoats in an attempt to remove her drawers. He had a little difficulty accomplishing the task, as his cold hands shook with eagerness and need, but he did, finally, manage to loosen her tapes. His breathing was as labored as hers, and she could feel the thudding of his heart in his chest.

Raleigh stood, bringing her with him and guiding her to the sofa that sat in the middle of the parlor. With a wide grin, he spun her about and bent her over the back of the sofa so that she found her face against green brocade and had to come up on her toes to maintain her balance. He pitched up her skirt, and without ceremony yanked her drawers down so they pooled around her ankles. He caressed her bottom with cool, shaking hands.

"You have such smooth, white buttocks," he said, wonder in his voice as he stroked her bare backside. "I never saw the like." He stroked and caressed her bare bottom with strangely cool hands, stoking the fire inside Vanessa.

She trembled inside, quivering with need, impatient to have this man, her love, inside her. "Now, Raleigh," she demanded, spreading her legs as wide as she could manage. "Now!"

She waited anxiously, as Raleigh came up behind her and placed his body close to hers. "Don't you worry, sweetheart," he whispered gently. "I've been told I have a little willy, so this won't hurt you too much." He nestled himself against her. "Won't take but a minute," he added in a soothing, soft voice.

With a bumbling nudge and an awkward poke, Raleigh Cox put an end to the virginity Vanessa had guarded for so long. Without ceremony or fanfare it was over. Gone. There wasn't much pain, not much at all, as he plowed inside her. Vanessa hugged the sofa, closed her eyes, and waited for more.

"Again," she whispered huskily. "More." She prepared herself for ecstasy.

Raleigh withdrew almost completely and then thrust into her once more. Yes, that was more like it, she felt the beginnings of ecstasy, the promise of something wonderful. "Again," she whispered. "Harder." Without so much as another nudge, he pumped his seed into her, writhing and moaning as he grasped her hips and pulled her against him. And then he withdrew and backed away, leaving her hunched over the sofa with her drawers down around her ankles.

Confused and dismayed, supremely disappointed, Vanessa righted herself and turned to face Raleigh... and saw Johnny standing in the doorway.

She smiled. He didn't.

She didn't let Johnny's obvious repugnance bother her. No matter what quarrel had made him leave, he loved her, he always had. And he, she knew, did not have a little willy. He was young, and vigorous, and he had the stamina to put an end to the burning need inside her. He would finish what Raleigh had started.