Wild Is the Night (48 page)

Excusing herself, Angel slipped through the crowded dance floor and outside. At first, she saw no one. The air was cool and crisp, the moonlight silvering everything. She scanned the bushes, searching for the cowhand, when suddenly a man stepped from behind the curtain.

“Chase!”

“Did you think I’d leave you?” He grinned at her startled expression. “I’ve come to marry you this time, Angel Lord knows you’ve done everything you could to chase me away, but I just can’t live without you. I love you, sweetheart.”

He kissed her, obliterating the pain she felt inside. Angel slipped her arms around his neck and openly gave herself to him. She wanted him. It was as simple as that.

His lips slowly left hers and his eyes searched her face. “Is that a yes? I haven’t much, Angel, but someday, I will. And we can’t live here
—
these people haven’t forgiven me for not slaughtering those Indians. But I have to live my own life. Can you do that with me?”

Angel smiled. She belonged to Chase as surely as dawn followed night And she’d never let him go again. “Yes, Chase,” she whispered “Yes.”