Chapter Seventeen
The wildflowers were fragrant in the air and the sun was warm on her face as Leah lay on her back beside the water and looked up at the clouds. She closed her eyes and then smiled when the sun was suddenly blocked from shining on her skin.
"You should not let the sun shine on you for too long. You will soon be as dark as me." Chase warned and Leah opened her eyes to look up at him. He stood tall and proud over her. What little weight he had lost he had regained in the week that she had spent here with him. His body was lean and toned and just the sight of that bronze skin pulled taut over those warrior muscles had Leah's body heating instantly.
"We could really be the chief and his squaw then couldn't we?" she asked and Chase smiled before moving and sitting down cross legged beside her. Leah sat up and scooted closer to him as he wrapped his arm around her.
"Chase, we haven't really talked about what happened with my family and Benja...."
"It doesn't matter." Chase stated, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"It does matter." she countered and he shook his head and removed his arm from her. His face was hard and his eyes angry as he stared down into the water.
"You are here now and that is what matters. You are mine now. I should not have allowed you to leave me then and I will not allow it again."
"Allow me?" Leah asked her temper flaring. "Are we back to me being your possession?"
"Yes." Chase replied simply. He reached for his saddlebags and drug them closer before beginning to rummage through them.
"Is that right?"
"Yes." Chase stated again, frowning as if he was worried about her ability to hear and then he fished out his rolled cigarettes and matches.
"Chase Caldwell, I love you but sometimes you are an ass."
"Most of the time." Chase agreed as he struck his match against his boot and the flame flared to life. Leah rolled her eyes at his apparent smugness.
"So I belong to you and you control my every move?" Leah demanded with annoyance and Chase nodded. Leah was certain she saw his eyes sparkle with mischief but then she could have been imagining things because he seemed pretty serious.
"And what do I get in return for my servitude?"
"My undying devotion and protection." Leah was certain that this time she could see him fighting a smile.
"So you also belong to me and will do anything that I say?"
"I'd rather not answer that." Chase replied before taking a slow draw off his cigarette.
"And why is that?" Leah asked as she picked a white fluffy dandelion and blew the white buds into the air.
"You may take advantage." Chase replied and Leah laughed loudly.
"You are so full of it." she gasped as she tossed the dandelion stem aside. Chase blew smoke from both his nose and mouth and smiled.
"Full of what exactly?"
"The material that comes from the south end of a north bound stallion."
"And that ladylike sensibility is what I love the most about you."
Chase replied with a wink. Leah moved back into his arms and he kissed her temple.
"There is one thing I would like from you." she stated quietly and Chase smiled against her skin.
"What is that?"
"Marry me." Chase was quiet for several long moments and Leah felt her heart hanging on the edge of a steep drop off. Was he going to say no?
"Didn't you....?" Chase stopped speaking and suddenly looked awkward which was so strange a thing to see him be that Leah found herself laughing with amusement.
"Didn't I what?" she asked as his brow edged upward at the sound of her laughter.
"Marry him." Chase replied as he looked away from her and took another draw off his cigarette. Leah sighed and kissed his jaw.
"See this is why we needed to talk. No, I did not marry him and he and Chance are the ones that finally convinced me to come after you."
"He gave you up?" Chase asked and Leah could tell that he was surprised.
"He never really had me and I guess he knew that. I might as well have died the day you left and Benjamin and my brother love me. They saw that I wasn't happy and they knew that being with you was the only thing that would make me happy."
"I do not like thinking of you being unhappy." Chase informed her as he pulled her closer to him. He noticed that she began to chew on her lip and he couldn't help but sigh.
"You obviously want something. Why don't you ask instead of taking out your curiosity on your innocent bottom lip?" Leah scowled at him and stopped chewing.
"Are you going to marry me?" she asked.
"You don't have to ask me that. I have already given you my word that I will."
"When?" Leah persisted and Chase curled her silken hair around his finger. He loved that she was wearing it loose during their time together but knew he'd insist she pulled it all up before they left. He didn't want any other man than him to see it falling across her shoulders and glistening in the sunlight.
"It will take two days to reach town." he replied and Leah instantly jumped to her feet and began gathering up their belongings. "Are you in a hurry?" he asked with amusement. Leah nodded as she tossed a shirt at him and he caught it one-handed.
"Yes. This has been a long time coming and I don't want something else bad happening before I can become your wife." Chase pushed himself off the ground in one fluid motion and he took her into his arms.
"Nothing is going to happen, Leah. I give you my word that nothing will ever come between us again."
***
"Well good morning, beautiful." Louisa's head pounded as the one room cabin door flew open and bright sunlight poured in. She squeezed her eyes shut tight against the assault and cursed the ropes binding her wrists as they cut into her fragile skin.
"Vete al Diablo!" Louisa spat as she spit and then glared up at the man who had just entered the cabin. His face was hidden in shadow as the sunlight streamed around him and lit up the dust motes floating through the air. His laughter filled the air as he stepped toward her, his bright silver spurs ringing in the quiet air and glinting in the sun.
"Temper, temper. Though many men say I must have been made in hell so I guess it wouldn't be too bad to go there and visit sometime." Tobias Henderson replied smoothly as he came to a stop in front of Louisa with a wide legged stance and a smug expression.
Lousia's eyes were swollen and her vision grainy from the many beatings she had received since being captured and tied up but even she could see that Tobias Henderson was a man to be reckoned with.
Tall, dark and sharp featured; he looked a lot like Chase and Louisa knew he must have Indian in him as well. There was one very big difference between the two men. Chase's eyes, while dark and sometimes cold, were much different than this mans. Tobias had eyes that were like black holes. Even when he laughed they appeared lifeless and dull.
He had a craziness about him. A cold almost inhuman quality that scared her badly.
"Are you thirsty, dear heart?" Tobias asked her as he crouched down on his long legs in front of her and looked at her battered face. She fought the urge to spit in his face, knowing that would only serve to get her beaten and shook her head.
"No." Tobias clicked his tongue.
"Of course you are." he countered. He pulled a flask from his pocket and pressed it to her lips. Louisa refused to drink and he growled angrily, grabbed her swollen cheeks roughly in his hand and squeezed until she cried out in pain. He took that opportunity to shove the flask into her mouth and pour the liquid down her throat.
Louisa felt skin that was dried and cracked from days with nothing to drink burning as the fiery liquid worked it way down. Big tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks as pain filled her senses.
"Good girl." Tobias murmured with satisfaction as he patted her cheek and she tried her hardest to scoot away from him, though the table leg she was tied to made that impossible.
"Eres un monstruo!" she gasped and Tobias chuckled.
"So I keep hearing. If you think insulting me in Spanish will save you the punishment for your disrespect then you are wrong. I speak the language fluently." Louisa just glared at him.
"Now there's no reason why we can't be friends, Louisa. Why you were warming my bed quite nicely until you found out who I was and what I wanted."
"You are crazy and what you want will never happen. You will die." Tobias laughed loudly and then his hand fell sharply across Lousia's cheek. She gasped at the fresh waves of pain and began to sob quietly.
"I will have vengeance for my father. That savage will die."
"Do you not have the same blood in you?" Louisa asked quietly and Tobias smiled.
"Unlike Chase I hate my less than civilized bloodlines. I killed my own mother because I couldn't stand the reminder of what I was."
"Boss Henderson was ten times the man you'll ever be and Chase killed him. What makes you think you'll be any different?"
"Because unlike my father I know how to kill an animal and do it right." Tobias sneered. "Now tell me exactly what I need to know about that mans weaknesses."
"He has none." Louisa spat and Tobias smacked her again.
"Everyone has them! I hear tell there was a woman. What was her name?"
"Why don't you asked Yancy and Tig since they've been hanging around too?! They know Chase really good!" Louisa shouted and Tobias shook his head.
"Because I'd rather ask you." he replied. "Now tell me." he growled as he grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head to the side causing her to cry out in pain.
"Leah!" Louisa screamed. "Her name is Leah Gordon!" Tobias smiled and released his hold on Louisa's hair. He kissed her cheek with a tenderness that made Louisa's stomach turn and then he put a gentle hand on her neck.
"Good girl. Now tell me everything you know about her and where she came from."