Rainey raised her head and looked at him. "What?"
"I want you to tell people that I found you huddled in the ruins at dawn."
"But you found me last night."
"I know I did and you know I did, but no one else has to know."
"But nothing happened last night."
"I think I know that, too. I'm just thinking of your reputation."
Rainey laughed. "I don't have a reputation, good or bad." She smiled at him. "So I guess I shouldn't mention to the paper that I came to your room late the night before."
He didn't answer.
"Or that we kissed in the alley long after the boarding-house was locked up. We kissed and you opened my shirt."
His arm tightened slightly, but she didn't stop.
"Or maybe I should leave out all together about how we met and how you accused me of stealing your horse."
"You did steal my horse. Twice."
She slid her hand to his collar and touched his hair. "I have a little trouble with what to leave out of my life when you tell me to be totally honest. I figure on a good day the best you'll get is about fifty-fifty." Her fingers moved into his hair, closed into a fist, and tugged.
Travis cracked and pulled her to him. He kissed her hard on the mouth. "You're going to drive me to drink, Rainey."
She smiled and felt her body relax in his arms. "Kiss me again, but don't ask for honesty. Kiss me hard like you did before dawn. Kiss me like you'd die if you didn't get to kiss me."
He turned her until she faced him and kissed her gently. "I don't want to hurt you here." He brushed her cheek. "Or here." He slid his hand over her backside. "You're nice and rounded here."
She smiled up at him, guessing that it was his turn to tease her. "It doesn't hurt and I don't mind if you touch me. After all, I touched you plenty while we slept together."
He raised an eyebrow. "You didn't." He studied her green eyes and had no idea if she was lying or telling the truth.
"You'll never know, but I promise you, you'll wonder."
His hand moved along her waist as he kissed her again. He would have kept the kiss soft, but she would have none of it. This time she wanted passion and would settle for nothing less.
When his hand slid to her hip, he pressed gently, then slowly, moved up until his fingers covered her breast. If she said he could touch her, he planned to call her bluff.
But she didn't move away. In fact, she shifted slightly, filling his hand with her ample breast. Through the few layers of clothes, he could even feel the point of it brushing his palm. She felt like heaven hidden beneath a few layers of cotton.
Suddenly he was very glad she'd placed the blanket over them. He'd thought her small, slim, but she was very much rounded in all the right places. Breaking the kiss, he stared down at her eyes as his fingers unbuttoned a few buttons on her blouse. When he slipped his hand beneath the dress, he saw surprise in her green eyes, but she didn't move away or tell him to stop. When his touch moved over the thin camisole and once more closed around her breast, he saw fire flicker in her eyes.
Then, to his surprise, she arched her back slightly, closed her eyes, and let him enjoy exploring the softest flesh he'd ever touched. He wished he could pull the blanket down and see her, but for now it was enough to watch her smile and feel her flesh grow warm beneath his hand.
He kissed her gently and whispered against her lips, "I could get used to the feel of you."
She moaned and stretched like a cat as he continued.
He told himself that maybe she just needed to feel alive, or maybe she wanted to know what the touch of a man felt like. It didn't matter that she'd allow no promises of the future. For right now, it was enough to hold her.
He gripped one breast tightly and smothered her surprise with a kiss. While his tongue tasted her, he held her breast boldly.
When he released her mouth, he expected her to pull away. He knew he'd been too forward.
But she only whispered, "Again, please. I like the way you hold me."
He laughed, deciding he was her slave. He had no choice but to grant her request.
But when he started to kiss her, she leaned away, smiling shyly as she unbuttoned the rest of her blouse so his hand could move freely between her breasts.
He kissed her as he explored, then whispered against her ear, "I'd love to taste all of you."
Her cheek warmed against his, and he knew he'd shocked her, but she didn't pull away. He kissed her tenderly then, trying to remember that all this was new to her. He wanted nothing more then to tell her that she was his and would be all their lives, but he knew he'd only frighten her. So he kissed her gently and touched her as if she were a treasure.
By the time Roy came whistling into camp, she looked like she had a fever and she definitely knew she'd been both kissed and touched. He buttoned her blouse beneath the blanket and sat her beside him before Roy had walked close enough to notice what they'd been doing.
"We'll continue this discussion later," he whispered.
She smiled and nodded slowly as if she'd already decided to do that very thing.
CHAPTER 27
Rainey rode toward Austin feeling as if her mind were weighted with lead. In the past twenty-four hours she'd been kidnapped, attacked, forced to murder an outlaw, rescued, and almost made love to by a man she'd told never to ask her to marry him again.
She felt like her life was galloping along at breakneck speed and any moment she'd slam into a wall and it would be over. Refusing to look back at Travis, who rode several feet behind her, wouldn't erase him from her thoughts. She couldn't decide if he'd taken advantage of her condition, or if it were the other way around. Only hours before she'd been too frightened to move. He'd comforted her, held her through the night. Then, with only a little encouragement, he'd made her feel more alive than she thought possible.
The heat of his fingers sliding across the camisole still warmed her. The way his hand had gripped her breast as he'd kissed her deep made her ache for more. Maybe she was exhausted, but she felt as if lightning had struck her beneath that tree. With his touch she'd discovered why a woman would both want and need a man.
If she were honest with herself, she did need him. She could very quickly become addicted to his kiss, his touch. But she didn't want him. She had not fought her way to freedom only to marry the first man who kissed her. No matter how fair he seemed, the fact remained that once she married she would belong to a man. She'd be like her mother, trapped.
Maybe she'd been too straightforward with him. Maybe she should have told him she didn't like his kisses. That would have put a stop to everything. How could she tell Travis that she was attracted to him but she wanted time to be on her own for once in her life? She wasn't ready for love.
It occurred to her that maybe he wasn't interested, either. He'd never said a word about love.
Rainey closed her eyes. She was too tired to even think straight.
When they crossed the creek, the other Rangers joined them. All of them seemed as happy to see her as Roy had been, and if she hadn't been on horseback, she feared they all would have hugged her. Like palace guards, they surrounded her and rode toward town.
Once on the streets of Austin, Rainey noticed people stopping to watch them ride by, and as they neared the Ranger headquarters, several shouted praise.
In front of the office Roy jumped from his horse and helped her to the ground. Travis stayed on his mount. She wanted to help him, knowing that the ride must have been hard on him, but she was surrounded by Rangers. They all hurried her into the office with Dillon shouting orders for one man to take Seth's body to the undertaker.
Once inside, Rainey tried to see over the men to find Travis, but he was nowhere in the room. They offered her coffee and Dillon asked if she needed to see a doctor before she gave her statement.