To Wed In Texas

TWENTY-SIX

DANIEL WALKED THE STREETS OF JEFFERSON, LISTENING to the sounds of hate around him. It was bad enough that the Southerners resented the Yankees' presence while the Northerners thought the Rebs should pay for the war. But the hatred was deeper. Far deeper. A kind of wound that has festered so long no one remembered how it started.

Sometimes he felt like the world had gone mad with resentment and prejudice. It reminded him of a story he'd read once about a tribe long extinct. The culture considered itself to be a civilized lot. So when two chiefs had a quarrel, they would stand on either side of the river with their people behind them. To show his belief in his cause and anger with the other chief, the leader on one side would kill one of his own tribe. The other chief would do the same. Back and forth it went, until one leader was sick of how many of his people lay dead at his feet. That chief was declared the loser for he would kill no more of his own. Sometimes, according to legend, only the chief would remain. He'd killed his entire tribe to prove how strongly he believed in his cause… he'd won.

Somehow being right and getting revenge were more important than saving those he loved. Like the ancient tribe, everyone in Jefferson seemed to have lost sight of what mattered.

Added to an already boiling pot were men of Cullen Baker's type, who preyed on the festering wound like maggots. Daniel was not happy to hear that Baker was coming to town to even the score between one of his former men and himself.

A nagging thought brewed in the back of Daniel's mind. Rumor was, Baker's former partner withheld part of a loot stolen from a federal troop shipment. The guns that had been in Daniel's hidden closet were all new Union-issue rifles. Maybe it was just coincidence, for nothing else matched the former preacher and owner of Daniel's home to Baker… nothing except a mother who'd disappeared and the stash of rifles.

He planned to ask Karlee what she'd done with the guns. The sooner he could get rid of them, the better. But when he opened the door of his home, a dozen people greeted him.

Valerie and her mother were cooking. Ida fussed over the children. Several of the young German men talked by the fire. Gerilyn sat at the table looking very much like she'd been committed to the state ward for the insane. His sister-in-law was dressed for a dinner party that obviously hadn't turned out to be what she'd expected.

Before he could close the door, Gerilyn jumped at him as if drowning. “Oh, Daniel!” She didn't seem able to say more.

Daniel nodded at everyone. “Welcome,” he said, and caught Karlee's glance.

She smiled back a little shyly. “We've company for dinner, Dear.”

Daniel almost laughed out loud. He must be getting used to her unpredictability. “So I see.” He took time to greet everyone individually, moving about the room with Gerilyn following in his wake asking questions.

Finally, he turned and took her hands. “Gerilyn, don't worry. We'll have a great time even if all the china on the table doesn't match.”

She looked at him as if he'd joined the craziness she wanted him to save her from. “But don't you see, everything has to match. One just doesn't set a table with two kinds of dishes. It's simply not done.”

For the first time, Daniel saw her for what she truly was. She never meant to be cruel and hurtful with her constant advice. She had lived by all the unimportant rules of society for so long they'd become her Bible. Informing people of their shortcomings was more important than their feelings. Proper manners more cherished than kindness. The social code had somehow replaced the Ten Commandments.

Daniel put his arm around her shoulder and led her toward the hallway. “It's all right, Gerilyn. Don't think of this as a dinner party.” He needed to calm her. There were enough problems this night. “Think of it as an indoor picnic.”

She took a deep breath.

Daniel clasped both her hands in his. “Now, I know everyone will be depending on you to guide them in setting the table and organizing the line for eating. With this many people, it will be chaos without your help.” He patted her hands. “But first, why don't you go upstairs and change? You wouldn't want to be overdressed.”

“Oh, no.” Gerilyn lifted her chin, silently fighting her way back to known ground. “There is nothing more gauche than being over-dressed at a party. A picnic, you say?”

“A German peasant picnic. They held them inside on rainy nights.” He made up the tradition. “Neighbors would help cook the food. Some would even eat on tablecloths on the floor. It's a custom passed down from village to village during the winter months when folks only long for picnics.”

“Really? I never heard of such a thing.”

“Oh, it's very much a German custom. We should feel honored they are willing to share it with us, outsiders to their ways.” Daniel smiled, feeling rather proud of himself for his fib. “But many of our guest are young and dearly need a gentle hand guiding them on what's proper. For I'm sure, as you know, even a picnic must have rules.”

“I'll do what I can, now that I understand the custom.” Gerilyn straightened her bony shoulders. “An original idea, but my cousin should have informed me earlier. And the dress is…”

“Very peasant looking.” He watched a light come back into her eyes.

As she climbed the stairs, he added, “Karlee didn't send out formal invitations. She wasn't sure how they should look. Perhaps you could show her an example. Your guess will be better than anyone's.”

“I'd love to. I'm sure I could design something very proper. Though at this late date it would serve more as a keepsake than an invitation.” Gerilyn disappeared into her room. “But first I have to get dressed and back down there. I'm sure she has no idea how to organize a serving line.”

Daniel leaned his head against the wall and laughed. Gerilyn was back.

Karlee joined him. Before he could put up his guard, she leaned against him and kissed him. Her body lingered a moment, pressing him against the wall as if she could hold him there.

“I'm sorry about the surprise company.” She brushed her cheek against his. “But Valerie and her mother were frightened.”

“And…” Daniel knew there would be more.

“And I invited them to spend the night. They've already put their things in your parlor bedroom. And Ida offered to cook supper, so I asked her to sleep in the twins' room.” She felt his day's growth of beard with her fingertips. “And her children came in because the talk is the streets will not be safe tonight. So I told them they could sleep in the kitchen and dining room after we've eaten.”

“And…”

Karlee laughed. “There are no more ‘ands.’ I hope you don't mind.”

“Only one question, Wife. Where do we sleep?”

Karlee frowned. “I guess my good idea got a little carried away.”

He lifted a handful of the hair that she now wore down. “I like your peasant look. And as for sleeping, I'll be out most of the night. You can have the chair in my study. I've spent many a night there. It'll be comfortable, if you haven't given away all our blankets as well.”

Before he could ask about the guns, the twins surrounded them, and Karlee was pulled back to the kitchen.

An hour later, the dinner party was a great success. Gerilyn arranged the settings and the tables. She even insisted on blending china with pots to create an almost campfire atmosphere. In a shawl tied with a belt at her waist and with a handkerchief twisting through her hair, Gerilyn looked almost human, Daniel thought.

When the meal was over, he took the twins to his study to read to them while the women cleaned up and Ida's sons moved bedding in from the barn. Gerilyn sat at the kitchen table finishing invitations for everyone to keep. She talked of having such a party, on a grander scale of course, when she returned home.

It would be dark by the time the house settled down, Daniel thought. Daniel only hoped the town would settle as well.

As he read, the twins cuddled on either side of him in the chair. Slowly, one by one, all three drifted off to sleep.

Daniel felt the girls being lifted from him by Valerie and her mother, but he didn't bother to open his eyes. He thought he'd rest a few more minutes before leaving to find Wolf.

An hour must have passed, for the room was in darkness when he felt Karlee kiss him.

Her lips were feather light against his as she leaned over him stretched out in the chair, his feet propped on the old square chest.

She hadn't listened to his warning from this morning, but Daniel didn't stop her. He saw no harm in what she did, and he was still too much in sleep to care. Her lips were soft and warm. He loved the fullness of them, tempting him so lightly with their honeyed touch.

Carefully, she raised her skirts and stepped one leg over him. He felt her knees slide beside his thighs as she settled over him.

He stirred when her hands moved into his hair and her mouth found his once more. The kiss was no light touch now, but hungry. The warmth of her was intoxicating, comfortable, inviting. Liquid desire floated over him as she warmed him with the blanket of her body.

Daniel awoke all at once, aware she sat astride him, leaning down against him.

He opened his eyes and pushed her a few inches away in protest. The sight before him in the shadows shook him to the core. She was so beautiful and so bold.

Dressed from waist down, but above, she wore only her camisole, unbuttoned dangerously low. Her hair danced around her like midnight fire, making her skin perfection. She was a warrior, fighting for what she wanted. He found himself drunk on her bravery. He'd only known women who were meek, never aggressive.

“Karlee, no…” he began, but she kissed him once more. “We can't…” He mumbled into her mouth half-heartedly. “I-I…”

She wasn't planning to lose this battle, he thought. He'd never seen a woman behave so boldly toward a man. She'd learned quickly how to please him, how to warm him, how to drive him mad. This morning he'd pushed her away, but tonight, she'd returned stronger, more determined.

Knowing this was her first time made her assault on his senses even more irresistible. He rewarded her efforts with the kind of deep kiss that made her melt against him. Karlee warm and willing in his arms fulfilled a hunger that had dwelled within him since the first time he'd touched her.

She wasn't using the feminine ways of a practiced lover, but only the raw, pure longing that had been between them since their first kiss. His mind might tell him to stop, yet the hunger in his body drew him into the feast. He kissed her with a wildness that shook the very center of his calm life.

When she finally straightened, she whispered in his ear, her breasts almost brushing his face. “You said I could come to you when I wanted to be touched again.”

“But…”

She straightened above him and unbuttoned her camisole the rest of the way. The material hung open a few inches, curtaining her perfection. “I want you to touch me, Daniel.”

A hundred reasons why he should stop came to mind. The riot, the house full of company, his promises not to make love to her.

None mattered as he shoved the camisole aside and her full breasts were freed from the cotton.

“Please,” she asked, in a whispered voice that seemed to scream through his mind. “Don't pull away from me this time. Love me, Daniel. If only once. Make love to me.”

When she leaned to kiss him once more, his arms closed around her and pulled her against him. All the logic in the world couldn't deny the need he had for her.

His kiss was now hungry, almost violent in haste. His hands were starved for the feel of her. He twisted her so that her head rested against the arm of the chair as his mouth moved to taste her fully. She moaned softly and arched her back as his mouth closed over flesh.

Giving and needing at the same time, she crossed through the walls he'd so carefully put up. Denying her would have been denying breathing. She reacted to his every move. Her reaction pumped adrenaline into his blood. She was perfection in his arms.

He couldn't get enough of the feel of her, of the taste of her. Had it only been hours since he'd touched her at the lake? It felt like a lifetime. Frustrated, he stood, lifting her with him.

As before, she drove him mad by welcoming his every touch, his every taste. She was a river, running white water through his veins.

“I can't make love to you in a chair.” His voice was low with desire and frustration.

The study was cluttered with books and papers, the desk piled a foot high. He felt like he was on fire with need. Every room in the house filled with people.

He lowered her feet to the ground, leaning her against the wall. His body pressed along the length of her letting her know how dearly he wanted her. She'd shattered the calm reserve he'd spent years building. If making love to her was what she wanted, she'd never have to beg again.

His hands knotted into her hair while he pushed against her and kissed her with the need of a lifetime for a mate. Her body was made to fit his and she took his hunger as a gift.

He moved his hands from her waist and closed his fingers over her breasts. They were full and silk. He caught her cry of pleasure in his mouth as his palms pressed over them.

She was breathless when he broke the kiss, but he didn't lean away. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall as his hands moved over her. At the lake he'd been hesitant, unsure sometimes, but now he knew her body. He knew what she wanted and loved hearing the sounds of her pleasure.

Somewhere above, a child cried in sleep. Painfully, Daniel forced himself back to reality. He heard movement. Someone was up.

“This is insane,” he whispered against her mouth still tasting her as he spoke. “We have to stop.” He knew she'd do nothing to help his quest. “I have to stop.”

Karlee nodded and rocked slightly, her body pressing against him, allowing him to feel her fullness against his heart. She was a woman made to be loved, hard and fast, soft and slow, all night long. He knew as soundly as he knew his name that she would never withdraw from him or help him stop holding her. He caressed her breast and heard her moan. He'd already taken her beyond reason. In another moment, he'd be there as well.

He cupped her face in his hands. “You are so perfect. Right or wrong, we will finish this between us.” He held her still until he knew she was listening. “I promise, I'll make love to you so completely, Karlee, you'll beg for sleep.”

Without hesitation she answered, “Or you will.” Her breathing, against his throat, grew shallow, causing her breasts to rise and fall against him.

He grabbed her hair and leaned against her once more. “I'm not sure if it's me having you, or you having me, but I plan to bed you. If you have no objection, Mrs. McLain? When we have a bed, of course.”

“I've no objection,” she whispered as he pushed away from her. “With or without a bed.”

For a long moment, he stared at her, his eyes hot with passion even in the darkness. There would be no more bargains or games between them. She'd open to him willingly the next time they touched. And he'd make love to her as he'd never made love to a woman in his life. She was a part of him, as essential as breathing. A part he could no longer deny.