“Of course, if you object, I'd understand and respect that.” He turned toward the lake, paying little notice that the rain had almost stopped. “I've tried to think of other things. I've told myself it is wrong. There is far more between a man and wife than touching.”

He stared into the night seeing only his falling. “There must be something warped in the way I feel. But I can find no sin in a man wanting to touch his wife. And the only dishonesty is not being straightforward about my request.”

Karlee tried to breathe, but she felt like she was underwater again. “Why?” she whispered.

Daniel shook his head. “I don't know. I've never felt this way with a woman before. It's just that whenever you're near, I want you to be just a little closer. I want to feel you and hold you. The only times I've slept solidly in years have been the nights we've been together.”

She moved beside him. “All right. Where do you want to start?”

He turned toward her and lay his hand over the knot where she'd twisted her towel together across her chest. There was no need for words. She understood.

Slowly, she let the towel fall. The thin cotton of her camisole clung to her like a second skin and seemed to glow as little more than spider web covering in the lantern light.

His fingers tugged at the ribbon, then unbuttoned the first button. His hands were warm. Hesitantly, he tugged at the second button.

Karlee closed her eyes. His hand gently spread the material away from the valley between her breasts. He moved his knuckles along the silken slope.

She shuddered, suddenly almost falling. His arms were around her instantly, bracing her against him.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” she answered and straightened away from him. “Please continue.”

“You feel like warm velvet, you know.” He lifted her damp camisole and peeled the material from her breasts.

She fought to stand still and control her breathing. If he wanted to touch her, for as long as he wanted, she'd not stop him.

His hand caressed her skin with such tenderness, she sighed. He wasn't examining, or evaluating, but worshipping. His hands circled over her, learning, memorizing.

As he passed his thumb over the tip of one peak, she sighed again and swayed toward him. His hands locked around her shoulders and held her so that they barely touched. He shifted, keeping a fraction from her as she felt the warmth of him so near. He was testing himself, seeing just how much he could endure, how much he could stand of being so close. So very close.

His knee sliced between her legs and she felt the brush of wool against the inside of her thigh. She sighed and would have reached for him, but he held her arms at her side. He shifted again and the buckle of his belt pressed against her belly. She felt the hardness of him press against her where a child would grow.

“Daniel,” she whispered, but he held her from melting against him.

Slowly, as if torturing himself, he pulled her until the rise and fall of her breasts moved against his heart. The soft hair on his chest brushed her, and she lost her mind to the pleasure.

When his mouth finally covered hers, she was ready and hungry for his kiss.

His grip moved to her waist as her mouth invited him to taste deeper, and her arms lifted to his shoulders. She pressed against him, desperate for the feel of him after his heavenly torturing. She needed the pressure of his hands moving along her back and over her hips. The kiss continued. He slid her undergarments away from her slowly, enjoying each inch of flesh revealed.

The slight breeze cooled her skin, but his hands moved over her, warming her with his exploration. As she whispered her pleasure, he turned her in his arms, pressing her hips against him as his fingers spread wide on their journey from her throat downward. His mouth was warm on her neck while he took his time learning every part of her.

She whispered his name, a plea for him to continue. He turned her roughly to face him and kissed her so completely that thoughts no longer came to her mind.

He'd longed for this nearness since the night he'd first kissed her and he would drink his fill of her tonight. She moved to his every wish, taking all his caresses and kisses before offering more. He knew he was bruising her flesh, but he had to know fully the feel of her or he'd go mad.

Again and again, she moved against him, turning in his arms, giving him all of heaven he could hold. She learned with each kiss and when he returned to her mouth offered him more pleasure.

When he finally pulled away, he was out of breath and seemed shaken. “Get dressed, Karlee.” His voice sounded unsteady. “We have to go.”

He seemed to be fighting himself. He touched only her lips with the tip of his fingers as he moved away.

They dressed in silence and he helped her in the buggy. Before he raised the reins, he turned to her. “You must think me completely mad.”

“Once more,” she asked with her hand resting on his arm. “Hold me once more before we have to go, Daniel.”

His control shattered. He pulled her wildly onto his lap and found her mouth. As the kiss deepened, he tugged at the buttons of her dress, shoving the material away in haste. His hands were as hungry as his mouth. He bared her breasts so quickly she felt the material rip.

He could no more explain his need for her than he could have denied it. He'd thought the taste of her, the feel of her, would satisfy the hunger inside him, but all it did was make him want more.

When he ended the kiss, she lay across his lap, her head cradled in his arm, her breast bare. He gently caressed her left breast as though he had petted her so tenderly for years. And, as he knew she would, she responded to his touch with a little sound that made him want to give her more, far more. She felt so good in his arms, warm, welcoming. A gift he hadn't asked for but could never return.

“I take it you've no objections to your husband's touch?” He closed his fingers around her flesh and watched her arch her back in pleasure.

“No,” she whispered almost mindlessly. “I've no objections.”

Daniel pulled her close, hugging her to him. “Then promise to come to me again, dear gift. Come to me again as you did tonight.” She was a woman of such fire and opinions, yet she molded to his desires without question.

He kissed her on the cheek and sat her beside him. There was no need for her to answer his request. He could see her answer in her eyes.

While she worked the buttons of her clothing, he drove toward the last stronghold of the Confederacy. The only place he knew of where men still fought a war already lost. His hands held the reins, but his thoughts were still holding Karlee.

TWENTY-FIVE

DANIEL WATCHED THE SHADOWS AS HE DROVE through the opening to a valley. He couldn't see anyone, but he knew they were there. Watching. Waiting.

A cliff rose on one side. The road narrowed so much that it would be impossible for him to turn the buggy around. He decided he should have told Karlee that the men surrounding Jesse Blair wouldn't have let him come alone even with Wolf vouching for him, unless she came also. They'd told Daniel he'd be shot if he entered the valley without his wife. Their reasoning was obvious; a man doesn't travel at the point of an ambush with his wife at his side. Despite Wolf's backing, Daniel was a Northerner.

A shadow materialized twenty feet in front of the buggy.

“Halt!”

Even though Daniel had been waiting, listening, he barely caught himself from bolting out of the buggy at the stranger's sudden appearance.

“Step down!” the faceless figure ordered.

Karlee squeezed Daniel's hand. Her calmness steadied him. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but once more she was proving her bravery.

“I have to blindfold you both.” The Southern voice softened slightly. “Don't worry. You'll come to no harm, Mrs. McLain.”

The man covered their eyes and helped them back into the buggy. He didn't tie their hands as Daniel had expected. With a jerk, the man led the horse, pulling the buggy forward.

Karlee's hand slipped into Daniel's. She held on tightly as they moved. Daniel listened, trying to guess first one direction, then another. Trees brushed the bonnet of the buggy from time to time. The road turned from rocky to smooth, then rocky again. They twisted so many ways Daniel finally lost his sense of direction.

The horse slowed, then stepped forward suddenly. Daniel smelled the familiar odor of a barn. The wind ceased, and doors closed behind the buggy as it came to a stop.

“You can remove the blindfold now,” a woman said in a voice low and kind.

Karlee was out of the buggy before Daniel could stop her.

“AmyAnn!” she shouted with delight and hugged the little mother as if there was no one else in the barn.

Several men stood around, unsure what to do. This wasn't the reception they'd planned. The women hugged and cooed over the baby as if a dozen men with rifles weren't circling them.