Savage Desire (Savage Lagonda 1) by Constance O'Banyon

gold than he would earn in a lifetime. He licked his lips and looked at Tajarez. "What you want her for?"
    "What I want with her is not your concern. It is enough for you to know that she will come to no harm from me."
    The man considered for a moment. There was a fortune the Indian offered him, and he did say he would not harm the girl.
    Tajarez watched as the man wrestled with his conscience. He knew the man's greed would finally win.
    "I don't rightly know where the girl lives. I wasn't here last spring when she was here. Heard stories, though. Some say she was a real beauty."
    "You can find out where she lives?"
    "Can I hold the gold in my hand?"
    Tajarez handed the man the gold. His eyes met Anias's.
    Although Anias could not understand the English that was being spoken, both he and Tajarez knew the man would tell him what he wanted to know.
    "I can find out easy enough where the girl is. Can I take the gold with me?"
    "Do you think me a fool, white man? You will have the gold when you bring me the information I seek."
    Tajarez removed a second leather pouch from his belt and emptied the contents in his hand, showing the man it also contained gold. "Bring me the information I seek. Draw a map I can follow. Also, bring me the white man's clothes that would befit a gentleman. I will need everything, including boots. Look at my size so you will remember. I do not care how you acquire the garments, but if they fit me, and if I am pleased with them, I will add this second pouch of gold as well."
    That was the man's undoing. The sight of so much gold had him willing to commit murder if need be.
    "I will get you all you need. Where will I find you?"
    "Just return here when you have all that I have asked of you. I will find you."
    Tajarez took the gold away from the man, picked him up as if he weighed nothing, and plopped him into his saddle. Another Indian handed the man his musket. The man's mind was filled with dreams of all he would buy with the gold.
    "Don't forget, I will be back," he called over his shoulder as he rode off toward the fort. He already knew where he would get the clothes the Indian had asked for. There was a young lieutenant at the fort who was a proper gentleman and had many fine garments, and as luck would have it, he was an exceedingly tall man.
    Tajarez felt joy in his heart. By this time tomorrow he would know where to locate Mara.
    All night Tajarez waited in the woods on the chance that the man might return.
    Anias watched his cousin with a frown on his face. "Suppose the man plays you false, Tajarez?"
    "He will not. He will not rest Until the gold is in his possession, and he can tell no one we are here, for fear of having to share the gold. I could not have chosen better had I handpicked the man myself."
    Tajarez leaned against a tree. "Look at me, Anias. I am like a young boy with his first love. I find my impatience to see her very hard to control. If I had wings I could fly to my love."
    "You love this maiden much then?"
    Tajarez looked toward the heavens. "Wait until you see her. You will love her yourself." Then he looked at his cousin and smiled. "No, perhaps you should not love her, for if you did I would become very angry with you. She belongs to me."
    "Tell me again what she looks like."
    "How can one describe the beauty of a sunset, or the rainbow that reaches across the heavens after a rain, or Mara? To look upon her is almost painful, so great is her beauty. Her eyes are green like the leaves on the trees. Her golden hair curls about her beautiful face. Her voice is like music, and her skin is soft to the touch. I cannot imagine anyone being unmoved by her beauty."
    Anias's eyes flamed. Already he desired the woman that his cousin loved. His mind had conjured up a picture of her, and jealousy burned in his heart.
    "I must see this maiden who has won the heart of my cousin. Who knows, she may prefer me to you."
    "Make your joke, Anias. But if it were so, I would have to kill you."
    Anias