Fargo’s mouth found hers. He covered her mounds and kneaded them through the sheer fabric of her nightgown. She bit his bottom lip as if trying to devour him, then suddenly drew back, her eyes widening in horror.
“Oh, no.”
Not having any idea what she was upset about, and not caring to stop, Fargo went to nuzzle her neck and was surprised when she pushed against his chest, stopping him. “What’s the matter?”
“I bit you so hard, there’s a drop of blood.”
Fargo didn’t understand why she was so disturbed. “Bite me all you want. Just so you don’t rip my throat open.”
“I didn’t mean to do it.”
Drawing back, Fargo stared. “A drop of blood never hurt anybody. What’s really got you upset?”
“I—” Mary hesitated. “I lost control.”
“All you did was bite me.”
“I never bit Frank’s lip.”
“I keep telling you I’m not Frank. Bite me, claw me, pull my hair out—it won’t make me faint.”
“It’s not you,” Mary said. “It’s me.”
“I don’t savvy.”
“Aren’t you listening? I lost control. I got so excited, I bit you without thinking. I’ve never, ever done that my whole life.”
“Calm down. It’s not as if you ripped my clothes off and had your way with me.”
“That’s just it. I want to.”
To Fargo’s delight, she threw an arm around his neck and pulled him to her. She kissed him fiercely, moaning all the while, and did the last thing he expected her to do: She reached between his legs and cupped his rigid pole. Her lips and her body were living fire. She didn’t so much make love to him as consume him.
Time lost all meaning. Mary kissed and rubbed and stroked and aroused as few women had ever done to Fargo. He held his own for a while and then lay back and let her do as she pleased. She pleased to do everything. Her lips roved everywhere. She was a bottomless wellspring of carnal craving, and she craved to be filled.
When, at long last, they neared the peak, Fargo throbbed with the need for release. His manhood felt fit to rupture.
Mary crested first. She threw back her head and her eyes widened in amazement, and then she bit her lip to keep from crying out as she bucked and heaved and cooed and gushed, gushed, gushed.
Her climax triggered Fargo’s. He hurtled over the brink, surprised by the intensity. It was like no time, ever. It was different. It was unique. It was the best.
They coasted to a stop and Fargo collapsed beside her. That was the last he knew until a gentle shaking of his arm brought him out of perhaps the deepest sleep of his life to find her gazing lovingly into his eyes.
“Good morning.”
“What?” Fargo thought she was mistaken. They couldn’t have slept that long.
“It’s almost dawn. Half an hour and the sun will rise. I’ve checked on Nelly and Jayce, and they’re still sound asleep.”
Groggily, Fargo raised up and looked around. “I slept the whole night?” He sank back down.
“What was left of it. We were up pretty late.” Mary tenderly touched his cheek. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“That was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I thought that Frank and I—” Mary stopped. “How do I put this?”
“It’s never the same with any two people.”
“No. I don’t mean that.” Mary’s brow puckered. “I thought I knew what it was all about. I mean, Frank and I did it, well, fairly often.” She touched him again, a great tenderness on her face. “But none of those times were anything like this. I don’t know if I can describe it in words.”
“There’s no need.” Fargo closed his eyes. If they had half an hour until daylight, he might as well get a little more sleep.
Mary kissed his cheek, his chin, his throat. “If I could, I would do it again right this minute. But the children will be up soon.”
“Rest,” Fargo said.
“I don’t want rest. I want you. I want you again and again. I want you until I pass out.”
Fargo looked at her, and damn if she wasn’t serious. “I won’t complain if you take it into your head to ravish me again sometime.”
“How about tonight?”
“If I make it back.”
Mary pressed her mouth to his, hard. “How about every night for the rest of our lives?”
Fargo sobered and propped his head on his arm. “I thought I made it clear. I’m not looking to put down roots.”
“I’d make you happy. I’d make you as happy as any man has ever been since the dawn of time.”
“Oh, Mary . . .”
“Think about it. That’s all I ask. Think about it, and if you want, stick around awhile and make up your mind.”
“I’m taking you and your kids out of here, remember?”
“There’s no rush. With you here we’ll have plenty to eat. You’ll hunt game, and I’ll cook and clean, and at night we’ll do what we did last night, over and over. There will be no end to it. No end to us.”
Fargo rolled onto his back and covered his eyes with his forearm. He liked her. He liked her a lot. Maybe it was even more than liking. There was no denying their coupling had been special. But what she was asking was impossible. He would eventually move on, as he always did.
“I’ve upset you, haven’t I?”
“No,” Fargo lied.
“Yes, I have. I can tell. I’m sorry. Truly sorry. It’s the last thing I want to do.” Mary rested her cheek on his neck.
Fargo was startled to feel a spot of wet on his skin. He peered from under his arm and saw tears trickling from the corners of her eyes. “Stop that.”
“I don’t want to lose you. This is so new, so wonderful. I’ve never known anything like it”
“I’m not the only man in the world,” Fargo said by way of suggesting she would find someone else one day.
“You are for me. Don’t you understand? What we have comes along only once or twice in a lifetime. It’s rare. If we go our separate ways, we might never have it again.”
Fargo draped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s new for you. You’re making more out of it than there is.”
“You don’t see. You just don’t see.”
“Mary, please.”
Mary tilted her head to look at him. The tears were still flowing but she didn’t sob or blubber. They were quiet tears. “I’ll make this as clear to you as I possibly can. Then it’s up to you to decide what you’ll do about it.” She cleared her throat.
“Don’t.”
“Skye Fargo, I love you.”
“Oh, hell.”
11
Fargo rode out half an hour after breakfast. He ate sparingly. They were running out of food. There wasn’t much of the flour left, and Mary was reluctant to kill another chicken. He made up for the lack with half a pot of coffee.
The three of them came out to see him off. The cold had abated somewhat, thanks to warmer wind from the south.
Fargo was about to step into the stirrups when Mary came over and, in front of the children, kissed him warmly on the cheek.
“Take care and come back safe.”
Fargo said he would try. He climbed on and looked down and felt a strange constriction in his throat. “If I don’t make it back and Cud Sten shows up, wait for your chance and steal three horses and head out of the Beartooth Range.” They wouldn’t last another six months, otherwise.
Mary put her hand on his leg. “You’ll come back. I know you will.”
Fargo used his spurs. He looked back once and they were still standing at the corner of the cabin. All three waved. He waved back, then swore.
Fargo told himself he was upset because of Mary. She had forgotten that he told her that he had no interest in planting roots. He’d meant what he said but she refused to listen.