Wild Desire

She lowered her eyes quickly, having almost admitted too much to this man whose mere presence made her head swim with rapture. He was a stranger and she had fallen in love with him too quickly.

Adam’s whole body seemed to be one heartbeat as he stepped up to her and lifted her chin with a finger. “You would be free to what?” he said huskily.

“To love you,” Pure Blossom blurted out, then leaned into his arms and offered her lips to him.

Adam swept his arms around her and drew her tightly against him. When their lips met, he found himself filled with pleasure he had long denied himself. Business ventures had always taken precedence over women. But now?

Now he wanted it to be the same, but, oh, Lord, it wasn’t. This pretty Navaho woman felt like an angel in his arms and her lips were as sweet as honey.

Pure Blossom moved her lips against his ear. “Come with me,” she whispered. “Make love with me in my hogan.”

Adam was torn by his feelings. He was stunned that this beautiful woman was offering herself to him so easily. Yet he knew the dangers of going to her village with her. If Sage caught him, he would surely issue a death warrant!

“I’d best not,” he whispered back, fighting his passionate desire. “Let’s make love here. Beneath the stars.”

Pure Blossom leaned away from him. “The air is getting cold,” she said. She placed a gentle hand to his cheek and softly stroked his flesh. “As you have surely seen, Pure Blossom cannot stand the cold. I must never get a chill, or it might be fatal.”

Adam brushed a kiss across her lips, then swung her up into his arms and carried her toward the slope of land that would lead him to his horse.

“This is not the direction of my hogan,” Pure Blossom murmured, smiling up at him. “Turn around. That will take you there.”

“My horse,” Adam said. “I must get my horse.”

“Leave your horse here,” Pure Blossom said, as she clung around his neck. “That way no one but myself will know you are in my hogan.”

Adam looked with wavering eyes up at the bluff overhead, then concluded that his horse was far enough from the village, and too well hidden, for anyone to see it.

“All right, so the horse is taken care of,” Adam said, turning to carry Pure Blossom down the slope. “Now what about me?”

“I know ways of getting you in my dwelling without anyone seeing,” Pure Blossom said, giggling softly.

“If you can get me into your hogan without being seen, I guess I can get out as easily,” Adam said, shrugging. “I want you, Pure Blossom. I’ll take whatever chance I must just to be with you.”

“You are the first for Pure Blossom,” she said, her eyes innocently wide. “It is fate that has brought you to me. My body has been saved just for you.”

Adam worried about this all being too easy; it did seem as far-fetched as some of the novels that he had read by a midnight fire.

A thought came to him. Was this . . . a trap?

Yet his need for her overpowered his fears and made him forget the dangers that might be waiting for him in the Navaho village. There was a fire in his blood that only Pure Blossom could extinguish.

He held her close and broke into a slow run, with only one th

ing on his mind.

Gratification.

Chapter 12

I sleep with thee, and wake with thee

And yet thou art not there.

—JOHN CLARE

Filled with the memory of her time with Runner, Stephanie had hardly slept all night. Early morning light was just seeping into the windows of her private car and she was already dressed for her exciting day with Runner.

Her hair drawn back and tied with a ribbon, and dressed in her demure travel clothes—a fresh skirt and blouse, and polished boots—she felt ready to tackle many miles today. Especially with Runner at her side, leading her to the various places that he would allow her to photograph.