Ride The Wild Wind (Time Travel Historical Romance) (11 page)

The madam knelt at
the floor in front of her and unbuttoned the slit in the dress higher to above
the knee. “There.” She stood back to gaze at Halle. “You are quite presentable.
If I were a gentleman I would be smitten.” Elena took Halle’s hands and pulled
her closer, then delivered a light peck on the cheek, lingering a bit too long.
Halle stiffened.

“You are so lovely,”
Elena whispered, keeping her cheek pressed to Halle’s. “If I were wealthy
gentleman, I would pay a fine price for a beautiful girl such as you.”

Halle’s heart beat
sped up. Was Elena suggesting she become one of her prostitutes? She tried to
ease away but Elena gripped her wrists and tugged her close. Halle stared into
the madam’s eyes, her heart pounding, her face so close to the madam’s she
could feel her breath on her face.

 “You are
special to me. Do you know how much so?”

A shiver skittered
up Halle’s spine as Elena reached up to caress her cheek.  
Um…yep.
 
She was getting the idea pretty quick.

The door crashed
open and slammed against the wall. Elena cried out as Halle reeled back.
 It was him! The stranger who’d found her on the road and delivered her to
this place three months before.

Dear God. What the
hell had happened to him?

CHAPTER SEVEN

His clothes were
grungy, his shoulder-length hair matted and shaggy like a stray dog’s. He was
wild-looking—frightening. He did a double take at Halle, then stared at Elena
as if he could kill her.

“Antonio! You are
early!” Elena launched herself against him, but he shoved her aside.

“Who the hell is
this?” He moved past Elena, his pale gaze never leaving Halle’s.

Halle’s face
warmed as his eyes raked over her. Didn’t he recognize her? She sure recognized
him, even through the grime. But there was something different, an almost
sinister expression in his eyes. Her skin goose-fleshed as he perused her
breasts, and her tummy fluttered as his gaze slid lower to her exposed calves.
Suddenly she felt naked beneath the intense scrutiny of his cold eyes,
realizing he could see through her sheer clothing.

Recognition flared
in his eyes. Something else, too…an emotion she’d seen before.
Desire.
He moved toward her, stopped so close she could feel the heat emanating from
his powerful body. Reaching up, he shook the pins and bow free of her chin
length hair and lifted a lock, allowing it to sift through his fingers.

He frowned. “Your
hair is different.”

When she’d last
seen him, she’d been sporting a fresh dye job. Luscious Cherry, the label read.
Now that it had grown out a few inches. To him she must look like a freak.

He brushed his
roughened knuckles against her cheek, skimming them down her throat to the
décolletage. Halle sucked in a breath as he skimmed against the swell of one
breast, daring to meet his eyes, her body trembling, though not from fear.

Only the sheer
cloth of the dress separated their skin. He leaned in close and sniffed the
side of her neck. She shuddered at the eroticism of his action, her body
responding to his nearness the way it had months before by the creek.

Her gaze flew to
Elena, whose red, rouged lips were pursed tight, her eyes flashing daggers in
her direction.

He knelt at her
feet. Frozen, she swallowed hard as he bent to lift the hem of her gown,
sucking in her breath as warm, rough palms moved upward over her shins
searching, seeking. Elena stood but a few feet away, anger and shock clearly
sketched across her face. His fingertips fell upon the pink scar on her knee
and lingered.

“It
is
you,” he said, barely above a whisper. He stood and whirled to face Elena.

“You were
instructed not to sell her!” His voice thundered, booming in the small room.

Elena’s face
blanched. She rushed and flung the door open wide. Her eyes flew to Halle.
“Leave us at once.”

Halle sprinted for
the door.
No, problem. No sireee. I’ll grab the rest of my clothes and high
tail it out of the line of fire.
On her way she snatched her clothing as
well as the small knife Elena had given her.

“We had a deal!”

“And have kept my
word,
mi amor
. I have not harmed her.”

“You turned her
into one of your whores!”

Halle wheeled
around at the insult. “Hey, I’m not a whore! I’m a hairstylist-slash-fashion-consultant-slash-secretary!”
She really had to get a shorter job title and fast.

He flashed a
warning look that sent a shiver prickling up her spine. But it wasn’t fear that
had her knees trembling, her heart pounding. Oh, no. It was the way he was
looking at her now, with sexy, smoldering eyes.

And the
realization this was the man they called Whitehorse, Elena’s lover.

She swallowed
hard, her eyes slipping over his dark, dangerous form.
Oh, dear God.
She’d
shared an intimate moment with him a few months before.

Even grungy, he
was the hottest damned man she’d ever seen. Then she noticed the obscenely
large bulge in the front of his pants. Her nipples tightened in response and
she sucked in a breath. This was a disaster in the making. She could
sooo
not have the hots for this guy.

She sailed past
but he lunged forward and caught her by the arm, pulled her close, his grip
hurtful, almost bruising. Halle swallowed hard and dared to meet his gaze. Why
was he staring? And why did she suddenly feel as if her mind had turned to
mush.

“Release her,”
Elena pleaded. “She should not be witness to our quarrel.”

His grip eased up
on her arm slightly, but he pulled her against him, his palm flattening against
the small of her spine as he drew her pelvis to his.

“What quarrel
could I possibly have with this woman?” he muttered.

Halle felt his
erection through the fabric that separated their bodies, the heat and sexual
hunger he exuded. She dared not move, not that she could. Frozen, she stared at
his Adam’s apple, fully expecting Elena to thrust a knife in her back at any
moment.
Maybe his
. His gray eyes held her as if in a trance.

Memories of the
day he kissed and caressed her resurfaced, as well as the erotic dreams she’d
had of him in his absence.
Oh, hell.
She was helpless to stop the
torrent of emotions flooding her. Her lips parted as if of their own accord.
She wanted him to kiss her now, despite the fact Elena was in the room,
watching. A moment of pleasure with this man would more than make up for
Elena’s wrath.

“I am pleased to
see you have recovered.” He reached up to comb his fingers through her hair. A
chill skittered up her spine when he tenderly tucked a lock behind her ear. Her
breasts grew heavy and the ache between her legs—the one he’d caused three
months ago—returned. She bit down on her lip, swallowed hard as he brushed his
knuckles against her cheek, then boldly skimmed them downward to her breasts
again. A shudder rippled over her heated skin.

His lips curled
into a sensual smile. “You have not forgotten that day either, have you?”

How could she
forget?  That day…the kiss. The way he’d touched her breasts. She’d
remembered every day since. Every night as she lay in bed alone.

“No,” she
whispered, feeling dizzy and breathless. “I haven’t forgotten.”  He
brushed the back of his hand against her nipple through the sheer fabric and
she sucked in a breath.

“Neither have I.”

Oh, this was going
badly. Elena would have her head on a turkey platter for this, and maybe an
apple stuffed in her mouth to boot!

Halle tore away
and reeled toward the door, fully aware he was on her heels. The door slammed
behind her. Momentarily, glass shattered in the room and Elena cried out. His
voice boomed from behind the thick door as he lashed Elena with a verbal tirade
in Spanish.

Holy shit, this
was bad!

She picked up her
skirt hem and high-tailed it downstairs to the safety of Rosa’s kitchen.

* *
* * *

“Antonio, it is
not as it appears. I swear to you on my life.”

Elena’s
promises—her word—meant nothing. She was an opportunist and an incredible liar.
“You did not follow my orders. The woman was to remain untouched.” His gun belt
slid to the floor with a hefty thud. He tore off his dusty vest and
sweat-dampened shirt and dropped them into the pile. The jealous witch had done
this on purpose! God damn, but he could almost kill her!

His stomach turned
at the thought of men abusing the girl. He had returned for her, not as soon as
he would have liked, but Elena knew how to punish him.

She eased up behind
him, laid a delicate hand on his shoulder. He tensed, fought down his desire to
curl his hand around her throat and squeeze until she lay blue and unconscious.

“Believe me,
querido
,
no man has touched her. I only thought the dress would make her attractive when
she served drinks in the suite tonight.”

Lying bitch
.
Did she think him stupid? He knew that gown—the one that all the young women
wore on their initiations. No, Elena had seized an opportunity to hurt him. She
had planned this event for his return.

Disgust roiled
through him. He wondered if Elena had also taken her as a lover these past few
months. It did not matter. Now he knew the reason for his cousin’s vision. The
red haired woman had come to save The People, but not in the manner he first believed.
There was a sizeable reward offered by her family a territory away. His vest
pocket held a folded poster offering five hundred dollars for her return. The
much needed money would buy food and guns for the starving Navajo.

At least now he
did not have to track her down.

Obviously Elena
did not yet know of the reward. If she had, the woman would have been long
gone.

“How much for
her?” Antonio asked, watching the color in Elena’s cheeks rise. “Since you say
she is untouched, I will be the first.”

Elena clutched a
hand to the bodice of her gown. “You cannot want her?”

He didn’t at that
moment but watching the expression on Elena’s face change from mild shock to
fury was rather satisfying. “What if I did want her, El? How much would she
cost?”

“She is a virgin.
She will be too much trouble. ”

He scoffed. “Did
she truly remain a virgin in my absence?”

      
   “You cannot have her, Antonio. I forbid it.”

“And you cannot
stop me from taking what I want!  Have you forgotten who owns this house
and the furnishings in it? The gilt paintings…ivory statues? Whose money paid
for your expensive French gowns over the years? Even your food?” He leaned
close into her face now. “I will have any woman in this establishment if I so
choose! I will have all of them if I damned well desire!”

Elena trembled.
“She knows nothing of pleasing you—not as I do.”

Antonio laughed
harshly. “Liar. She is your
lover, isn’t she? Share her with me, Elena.
Better yet, join us in a threesome tonight. I suspect such would be more to your
liking, would it not?”

Elena’s body
trembled with rage. Good. He loved the affect of his scandalous suggestion.

“I will kill you
if you touch her,” she replied, barely above a whisper.

“The hell you
will.” It made no sense to him why Elena would be protective of the girl. Never
had she put another’s needs before her own. Unless, of course, he was right and
she
had
taken her as a lover. “Is she sleeping with you?”

She hesitated.
“No.”

“But you have
considered it?”

She looked away.
“I do not wish to speak of this, Antonio.”

He eyed her up and
down, trying to discern the thoughts rattling around in her devious head. It
would not be the first time he had known Elena to keep company with a woman.
Had she intended to groom her for her own personal use, and then discard her as
one of her lower priced whores when she found a younger, prettier toy?

“Tell me the
truth, Elena. She is wearing the initiation dress. I saw you clutching her like
a lover when I came in. What would have happened if I hadn’t returned? Would
you have seduced her? Or would you have sent her to room twelve to be tied to
the bed and brutalized? Isn’t that what you do in that particular room—indulge
men and women’s darker fantasies? How many customers were to attend your
private party tonight in the suite? Or were you planning to induct
her
yourself with that damned ridiculous apparatus you enjoy wearing on occasion?”

Elena’s eyes
lifted to his, a mixture of hurt and anger in them. Such was a forbidden topic
between them.

“What do you care
if I indulge my desires on occasion? I am lonely, Antonio. Would it matter if I
take a female lover in your absence? I do not ask if you enjoy other women
while we are apart.” She turned and headed for the door. ”I will call for Pedro
to draw water for your bath.”

“I have no time
for a tub bath.”

She paused. “Very
well.”

His eyes followed
her as she crossed the room to the wash stand. He watched Elena reach into the
drawer and remove a straight razor, his shaving cup and brush.

She lifted the
porcelain pitcher and poured fresh water into the basin. “What is your hurry?”

He sat on the edge
of her bed and pulled off his boots. He dared not tell her the urgency of his
visit or about the poster he picked up that morning and the reward for the
Brannigan woman’s return. “I must leave once Diablo is paid and supplies are
loaded. Is the wagon in the back alley ready?”

She turned to face
him. “Yes. Rosa and my ladies have also been storing meal and preserved fruits
in the pantry since you last departed as well as sacks of dried beef. And there
are two spans of mules at the livery, as you ordered. Pedro will bring them in
the morning before you depart.”

He sat forward,
pushed his fingers through his greasy hair. “No. I leave tonight. The Navajo
are starving. Carson’s troops burned crops all the way from Canyon Bonito. They
will not survive the winter without supplies. Once I arrive the mules will be
eaten as well.”

“Diego—my son—is
he well?”

“He is with my
aunt and is well.”

He watched her
nibble at her lower lip. Bright tears shone in her eyes. “I heard they are
taking no male prisoners. He will be killed if soldiers find him.”

Antonio nodded.
“We all will.”

She wiped away a
tear with her fingertip, then began to unhook the front of her gown.

“No, Elena. I have
no time.” He didn’t. More than that, he no longer held any desire for her. He
had to get out of there, and fast. Standing, he unfastened his breeches and
dropped them, hoping to change quickly and be gone.

Elena stared at
his erection, although she could not know she hadn’t caused it. When he burst
through the door and saw the red-haired beauty wearing the sheer, cream-colored
confection, her hair upswept and beribboned, he wanted her like no other woman
before.

Elena slid the
gown from her shoulders, revealing her breasts. “Perhaps you will change your
mind and make time for me.”