Miracle Jones (35 page)

“Let me get the scissors.” She pulled his fingers off her arm and busied herself behind the shop’s counter.
Harrison leaned back in the chair, studying her through slitted eyes.
Was she keeping something from him?
He didn’t like to think so.
And why would she anyway?
She wanted to capture those murdering renegades as much as he did.

Yet something didn’t add up.

“How’s Jace?” Miracle asked when she returned with the scissors, some strips of cotton bandages, and several bottles of concoctions Harrison didn’t like the looks of.

“Alive and well and apparently un –” He sucked air between his teeth as Miracle was forced to jerk the last bit of cloth away from his wounds before cutting the material away.
“God Almighty, woman!”

“The bullet cut through your upper arm,” she said, eyeing the profusely bleeding area.
“I’m going to have to squeeze the juice out of this tamarack bark and make a – “

“Stop it,” he demanded, grabbing her arm once more.
“I want a description of Brody, as best as you can remember.”

“I’ve already told Sheriff Raynor –”

“Tell
me.”
Miracle glanced toward the fire, and Harrison noticed her swollen cheek again.
“I’m going to kill that bastard for touching you,” he said flatly.
“And anyone else who tries to do the same.”

Miracle should have been either annoyed by his proprietary tone – he didn’t own her, after all – or pleased.
At least it was proof he cared in some way.
But what she felt was panic.
For all she knew, Blue could be waiting somewhere, listening, marking Harrison for death.
“He was white,” she said.
“With a dirty beard and stinking breath.”

“Sounds like half the men at the Half Moon.”

Miracle snorted as she swabbed at his cut with some carbolic acid.
Harrison clamped his teeth together so tightly she thought he’d surely break them.

“I’ve got some brandy upstairs,” she said.
“While I crush the tamarack, I want you to drink some and lie down.
Don’t argue.
It’ll give you the most strength.”

“And where do you propose I lie down?”

“You can use my bed.
It’s just a cot, really, but it’s comfortable.”

“No.
As soon as I’m back together, I’m going after Brody.”

“You can wait till morning,” Miracle argued.

“Brody’s not waiting.
And he’s got a woman with him.
Did you forget that?”

Miracle swallowed.
No, she hadn’t forgotten.
“Let Sheriff Raynor catch him.
You need to rest.”

“The hell I do!” He glared at her, especially at the curve of her hip and tiny waist as she stood behind him and the fire, her lithe body silhouetted through her nightgown.
If she didn’t move she was going to distract him for sure, and this time he wasn’t about to be distracted.

“Then stay put long enough for me to dress your wound.”

She moved to the shelves, reaching up to grab the jar of tamarack bark.
Harrison’s eyes followed her, but when she glanced back he jerked around, scowling at the embers.

She took her own sweet time pounding the damn bark into juice.
A person could die waiting for her kind of doctoring.

“Aren’t you finished yet?” he demanded irritably.

“Nearly.” She poured some of the tamarack juice onto a bandage and brought it to him, wrapping the bandage around his arm ever so slowly until the juice no longer seeped through.
Harrison sat perfectly still, his jaw set.
His nerves were on edge.
When she leaned back to reach for the scissors her breasts touched his arm.

“There.” She eyed her handiwork critically.
“No, wait!” she commanded when he made to rise.
“You could use a dose of brandy.”

“Miracle, what the hell are you doing?”

She stiffened at his cool tone.
“I’d like to bind that arm to your chest.
It would keep it still.”

“The hell it would.
I need this arm tonight.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to keep me here.”

“You need to recuperate.”

“You can’t make me stay,” he stated flatly, and she inwardly sighed, realizing he was well aware of her tactics.
But he didn’t know the reason for them.

“Not by force,” she admitted, lifting deep turquoise eyes to his.

His breath was sharp between his teeth as he inhaled in shock.
He tried to rise to his feet, but she stopped him by putting one slim hand on his shoulder, holding him down.
“But I don’t want you to go.”

“Miracle,” he began impatiently but was cut off by the soft feel of her lips pressed to his temple.
Harrison froze.
Dryly, he added, “You can’t seduce me into staying, either, if that’s what you have in mind.”

“Can’t I?”

“I know all about being used by women for their own purposes,” he told her coolly.

“Kelsey?”

“No, not Kelsey.
But others.”

Isabella.
Miracle wondered if he really knew how his bitterness over Isabella had let him offer for Kelsey simply because she was safe.
A friend.
A trustworthy female.
And it was Isabella’s treachery that made him cautious with her.

Miracle had never played the temptress before, but with Harrison it was easy.
“We’ve already made love,” she pointed out.
“Even if you don’t remember it.”

“I remember it.” This was gritted between his teeth.

“Not like I do.”

“Miracle, for Chrissake, if I could change that I would, but I can’t do anything now!”

“You said you wanted me earlier.”

“I do,” he admitted with great reluctance.
“But not now.”

“Brody will wait.”

“No, he won’t!
And what about all that talk about not being a white man’s mistress?” he demanded furiously.

Miracle blushed.
She couldn’t have him out there with Blue stalking him, and the truth of the matter was she loved him and wanted to make love to him desperately.
If that made her like her mother, she would face it later.
Right now the situation was too desperate.
And before Blue ruined her chance with Harrison she wanted one more memory, something to keep her warm on cold, lonely nights.

She gazed at his muscular chest, bronzed by the light of the fire.
Uncle Horace was bound to sleep straight through till morning.
There was no reason to keep her from making love to Harrison, and every reason to keep him near her and out of harm’s way.

Except that now he was unwilling.

Lightly she touched one of the scars that covered his right shoulder.
Harrison jerked away automatically, snatching her hand with one hard fist.
“Why now, Miracle?”

“Because I want you,” she said, covering his mouth with hers.

It only took a few moments after that.
His arms suddenly crushed her to him, until she was sitting on his lap.
His fingers tore into her hair, his mouth savage in its need.
Miracle’s blood pounded.
She tried to get up, thinking of heading upstairs, but he pinned her down until she felt the hard heat of him against her.

“Don’t change your mind,” he rasped in her ear.

She shook her head, then nearly jumped from her skin when his hand slid under her skirt, rubbing her in a way that made her knees go weak.
Then his fingers slid inside her drawers and entered her in one smooth motion.
She jerked upward, but he held her close while he introduced her to new magic.
She cried out, in both outrage – for surely this was not done!
– and pleasure.

She fought for several moments until she climaxed suddenly and fiercely, furious with him when she felt his silent laughter.
Hellfire and damnation, she wasn’t going to let him get away with that.

“Just because I want you doesn’t mean you can use me like a mistress!” she declared in grand fury.

“Is that what I did?”

She pushed away from him and stood in front of the chair.
The evidence of his own arousal was blatantly obvious.
Good.
He could just stay that way.

She made it to the stairs before she heard the chair clatter onto its side.
He grabbed her swiftly, crushing her to his chest, pressing his face against her nape, groaning.

“I told you not to leave.”

She was already regretting choosing this method to save his infernal skin.
“I won’t be –”

“You’re not my mistress.
God, Miracle.
Don’t you know what you do to me?
I’ve practically embarrassed myself time and again, fantasizing about you.
For weeks I thought of nothing else but getting inside you, making love to you.
It’s damn frustrating.
You said you wanted me, and by God, you’d better come up with a helluva good reason if you don’t intend to have me!”

Miracle was at a loss for words.
She opened and closed her mouth several times as his hands cupped her breasts.

“What?
Miracle Jones struck speechless?”

“Curse and rot you, Danner.
You have a miserable sense of humor.”

He suddenly swept her off her feet, carrying her upstairs, grinning down at her in a totally superior way.
Miracle flung her arms around his neck, wondering if she’d made a terrible mistake.
Then she felt renewed embarrassment when he set her on her feet in her bedroom and began systematically pulling off her clothes.

“Wait!” She clutched her hands to her throat.
“Let me get under the covers first.” She glanced at the cot.
There wasn’t a blanket on it.

“Sorry,” he said, sounding suspiciously smug.

Her nightgown pooled onto the floor.
With a yank, her drawers followed.
Then she stood completely naked in front of Harrison, her knees quaking.
She couldn’t look at him.
She turned her head and felt herself flush.

“God Almighty,” he whispered reverently.

His vision of her arising from the water was only partially accurate.
He didn’t remember such long, supple limbs, or such a tiny waist, or such perfectly formed breasts.
The tiny moon-shaped scar was just barely visible, but he ran his thumb over it.

“You’re shaking,” he said in surprise.
Then realizing why, he muttered roughly, “I promise it’ll be better this time.
If I’d been aware you were a virgin the first time, I would have taken more care.”

“That’s not why I’m shaking.
I’m cold.”

“Liar.” He unbuttoned his pants, and now Miracle’s gaze slid back to him.
She couldn’t help herself.
But when he also stood naked, she was astounded as well.

She didn’t have any more time to give it thought, however.
He sat down on the cot and pulled her atop him.
Miracle’s forthrightness vanished as soon as she felt his hard limbs beneath hers.
The mystery of love making was just as strong as it had been the first time.
Sensing her reluctance, he said, “Come here,” cupping her face and bringing her mouth to his.

She shivered.
He groaned, wrapping his legs around hers, pinning her hips against his burgeoning hardness.

“Tell me.
Was it like this the first time?” he asked, a smile in his voice.
His hand pressed against her softly rounded buttocks, pushing her against him in a thrilling way.

“Yes,” she gasped.

“I thought I had dreamed it, but it was just too real.
I could feel you,” he said through his teeth.
“I could feel myself inside you.
But God help me, I never meant to take you by force.”

“You didn’t,” she choked out.
“I lied.”

“Did you?” He hesitated a moment.
“You put me through hell over that!”

“You deserved it!
You were engaged to Kelsey, thinking of her while you and I were – were –”

“I wasn’t thinking of Kelsey.” He cut her off harshly.
“It was you I saw coming out of the water.”

Miracle searched his eyes to see if he were really telling the truth, but desire glowed like glittering emerald gems.
“Harrison…”

“Shhh.
Use your mouth for something else.”

She opened her lips to ask, “What?” but he used the moment to slip his tongue inside and caress the heat of her.
She moaned involuntarily as his hand slid down her leg once more, discovering her heat, driving her to an embarrassing wetness that had Miracle rising both in ecstasy and in an attempt to escape.