all-fired important for you to get to Vicksburg. If I had been a betting man, I would have put money on you trying to get home to be with your grandfather and your brother.”
She had tried not to think about it in order to avoid the guilt of abandonment in its wake. On impulse, she pulled the tube from around her neck.
“Before we left, Grand-père gave me this and urged me to get it to General Pemberton.” Her fingers wrapped possessively around it. “I don’t know what it is, but he said his life depended on it.”
“Let me see,” he demanded, taking it from her.
“It won’t mean anything to you,” she said. “It’s in code.” She twisted to watch him.
“Yes, it is,” he agreed, as he unrolled the paper and glanced over the letters.
“I’ve seen something like this before,” he said. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the code either.”
“Maybe I can figure it out,” she said, grasping for it.
He pulled it out of her reach.
“I’ll keep it,” he informed her. “There’s no need for you to worry about it.”
“No need for me to worry! My grandfather’s life depends on it. He placed it in my hands, not yours. I’ll be the one who keeps up with it.” Her face flushed as her voice lifted.
He eased the paper and tube into her hands.
“Thank you,” she muttered, surprised that the show of temper brought such easy results.
A lifetime of breeding taught her control of any displays of anger. She rolled the paper and slid it back into the tube, before slipping it beneath the collar of her shirt. Lifting her eyes to Thomas’s, her gaze snagged with his like a trapped firefly in lantern light.
“My God, Alexandra,” he said, almost with a catch in his voice. “I can’t stop wanting to touch you and feel you in my arms. You’re beautiful.”
Her flush of anger melted into one of pleasure. His words came unexpected and filled her with disbelief. Her hand lifted to her cropped hair. She swallowed the lump she hadn’t even realized rested in her throat. Then she smiled and caressed his cheek.
“It seems, sir, that we are afflicted by the same malady.”
He didn’t return her smile. His emotions flashed in his eyes. He reached out and placed his hands on her cheeks then slid his fingers to the sides of her head to tangle in her hair. Before she could catch her breath, his mouth covered hers. Again she shivered at the petal softness of his lips. Then, as she melted into his kiss, it changed, becoming fiercer and more demanding. He moaned, and she gasped in answer as his breath mingled with hers.
Uncountable moments passed. Birds chirping in the trees above them faded, and the heat of the sun on her back disappeared. There were only his hands in her hair, on her face, inching down her neck and back…his lips against hers, and the tingle of pleasure running along her spine.
If only time would stop and this moment would go on forever.
Thomas had other ideas.
“We have to stop,” he said against her lips.
Alexandra tried to understand, but the fog in her brain blocked out rational thought. “Stop? But why?”
The corners of Thomas’s mouth tipped up. “If we don’t stop now, we won’t be able to.”
“But I don’t want to stop,” she whispered on a tangled breath.
He chuckled. “Neither do I, but I’m only human, and a man at that.”
He gazed at her. “You must remember your reputation, ma chérie,” he uttered.
“Oh,” she murmured, lowering her gaze.
“I suppose we should be heading toward Vicksburg,” he said.
As the blood resumed its flow to her head and limbs, Alexandra allowed him to lift her onto the back of the horse. Drunk on his kisses, her thoughts whirled to match her high emotion. Thomas mounted the horse behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her close.
The trip to Vicksburg promised to be long.
****
As they approached Aunt Maggie’s tidy little whitewashed cottage in late afternoon, the sun still high in the sky,
She had tried not to think about it in order to avoid the guilt of abandonment in its wake. On impulse, she pulled the tube from around her neck.
“Before we left, Grand-père gave me this and urged me to get it to General Pemberton.” Her fingers wrapped possessively around it. “I don’t know what it is, but he said his life depended on it.”
“Let me see,” he demanded, taking it from her.
“It won’t mean anything to you,” she said. “It’s in code.” She twisted to watch him.
“Yes, it is,” he agreed, as he unrolled the paper and glanced over the letters.
“I’ve seen something like this before,” he said. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the code either.”
“Maybe I can figure it out,” she said, grasping for it.
He pulled it out of her reach.
“I’ll keep it,” he informed her. “There’s no need for you to worry about it.”
“No need for me to worry! My grandfather’s life depends on it. He placed it in my hands, not yours. I’ll be the one who keeps up with it.” Her face flushed as her voice lifted.
He eased the paper and tube into her hands.
“Thank you,” she muttered, surprised that the show of temper brought such easy results.
A lifetime of breeding taught her control of any displays of anger. She rolled the paper and slid it back into the tube, before slipping it beneath the collar of her shirt. Lifting her eyes to Thomas’s, her gaze snagged with his like a trapped firefly in lantern light.
“My God, Alexandra,” he said, almost with a catch in his voice. “I can’t stop wanting to touch you and feel you in my arms. You’re beautiful.”
Her flush of anger melted into one of pleasure. His words came unexpected and filled her with disbelief. Her hand lifted to her cropped hair. She swallowed the lump she hadn’t even realized rested in her throat. Then she smiled and caressed his cheek.
“It seems, sir, that we are afflicted by the same malady.”
He didn’t return her smile. His emotions flashed in his eyes. He reached out and placed his hands on her cheeks then slid his fingers to the sides of her head to tangle in her hair. Before she could catch her breath, his mouth covered hers. Again she shivered at the petal softness of his lips. Then, as she melted into his kiss, it changed, becoming fiercer and more demanding. He moaned, and she gasped in answer as his breath mingled with hers.
Uncountable moments passed. Birds chirping in the trees above them faded, and the heat of the sun on her back disappeared. There were only his hands in her hair, on her face, inching down her neck and back…his lips against hers, and the tingle of pleasure running along her spine.
If only time would stop and this moment would go on forever.
Thomas had other ideas.
“We have to stop,” he said against her lips.
Alexandra tried to understand, but the fog in her brain blocked out rational thought. “Stop? But why?”
The corners of Thomas’s mouth tipped up. “If we don’t stop now, we won’t be able to.”
“But I don’t want to stop,” she whispered on a tangled breath.
He chuckled. “Neither do I, but I’m only human, and a man at that.”
He gazed at her. “You must remember your reputation, ma chérie,” he uttered.
“Oh,” she murmured, lowering her gaze.
“I suppose we should be heading toward Vicksburg,” he said.
As the blood resumed its flow to her head and limbs, Alexandra allowed him to lift her onto the back of the horse. Drunk on his kisses, her thoughts whirled to match her high emotion. Thomas mounted the horse behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her close.
The trip to Vicksburg promised to be long.
****
As they approached Aunt Maggie’s tidy little whitewashed cottage in late afternoon, the sun still high in the sky,
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