fellow, ain't he?' Molly brushed the blond hair from Hunter's forehead. 'But none of our concern.'
'But, ma'am, this is the man I saw with Abram during the war. The first time I saw Miss Perry, she was with this gentleman and he weren't in much better shape than he is right now. She was dressed like a boy and this man was a Union officer.'
Molly's eyes widened as she studied the unconscious man with renewed interest. So this is Perry's Hunter, she thought. Then she commended Luke. 'You done right, Luke, to bring him here.'
'Yes, ma'am. There was a group of men beatin' him up. Looked like they planned to kill 'im. I'm thinkin' he's more hurt than drunk.' Luke nodded his head continuously, proud of himself for his actions.
'I'll doctor his head first.' Molly reached for her small medicine kit. 'When I'm finished, you take him upstairs and put him in Old Henry's room. Then you go after Abram. My guess is he'll want to know about Hunter bein' here. He may even want to send for a real doctor.'
Luke continued to nod for several seconds. He warmed himself by the fire and watched Molly work on the cut in Hunter's scalp. 'You're up late, ma'am,' Luke said, more as a statement than a question.
'I have trouble sleepin' when it's dark. Too many years of being awake all night,' Molly said, a slight flavor of her Scottish accent showing.
'Yes, ma'am.' Luke watched her closely. He'd heard about what Molly had been; so had everyone else in town. But as long as she was square with him, he would give her all the respect she asked. Besides, he genuinely liked the old woman.
'There.' Molly stood and closed the medicine box. 'Be gentle with him, Luke, and don't let those big feet of yours go wakin' up Perry.'
Luke cradled Hunter in his arms and eased through the main hall and up the stairs. He knew his way, even in the dark. Part of his job was to check out the house a few times each night. The womenfolk were still afraid one of Old Henry's nephews might try to return. The first night, Luke had stumbled into furniture, bringing Molly storming down the stairs waving a dueling pistol like a pirate boarding a king's ship. Since then he'd been careful to follow a precise path through the house in the dark.
As Luke laid Hunter on Molly's bed he mumbled, 'By the time I go fetch Abram, I'm gonna miss my night's sleep.'
To Luke's shock Hunter's eyes opened. The two men stared at each other as though both had just regained consciousness.
'Who are you?' Hunter mumbled, rubbing his head and trying to sit up.
Luke smiled like a new father. 'Well, it's glad I am to see that chair didn't leave you permanently senseless. You're safe at Molly's Place. Luke's my name. I fetched you out of the alley after a fella name of Wade Williams slammed a chair into your head. Up till then, I was bettin' on you holding off all them gutter rats.'
'Molly's Place? That's a new dining house, isn't it?' Hunter sat on the edge of the bed. He twisted his neck, testing the limit of his pain.
'That it is, but there are a few bedrooms up here. You rest and I'll go get Abram.' Luke moved toward the door.
'How'd you know about Abram?' Hunter asked, the cold, steel gray of caution touching his eyes.
'Molly told me to go fetch him,' Luke said as he opened the door and vanished into the darkened hall.
Hunter tried to clear his buzzing head. He'd heard of a prostitute named Molly opening an eating place, but he was sure he'd never met the lady. How could she know about him and Abram?
Hunter sat in the darkness thinking over the recent strange events and wishing he'd gone to bed and ignored the fateful note last night. One good thing had come from it-he wouldn't marry Jennifer. Her voice was still ringing in his ears. She'd said every hateful thing she could think of to him, but the announcement that his touch made her freeze bothered him the most.
Smiling, he remembered how she'd reacted when he told her that he knew all about Richard.
He held his throbbing head in his hands and wished he'd told Jennifer of the woman in his mind who'd set his blood on fire and warmed his heart as no other woman could ever do. How would she have reacted if she'd known he also cared for another?
As Hunter sat in the darkness a melody drifted through the night to him. A melody so soft, he could barely hear it above the rain tapping on the windows. Curiosity drove him to search for the sound. The door by the windows opened into a small office. Lightning lit the room long enough for him to cross to a half-opened door directly across the office.
Hunter froze in the door frame at the sight before him. A vision purer than any dream filled his eyes with unbearable beauty. His angel sat on the floor beside a newly kindled fire. She was slowly, almost absentmindedly, brushing her long black hair. The silken strands billowed around her like a black cape, in sharp contrast to her white cotton gown. He watched the vision study the firelight, unaware of how beautifully the lights danced across her skin and set fiery highlights in her black curls. He was afraid to move, for fear she might once again vanish. He'd never seen her so clearly, and from this dream he never wanted to awaken.
The music box stopped playing and his angel turned toward him. As she saw him she smiled, as if she thought him only a figment of her imagination. As though she'd thought of him coming to her many times and now he finally had.
Moving slowly toward her, he knelt beside her on the rug and gently lifted her face in his hands. Her skin was as warm and velvety soft as he remembered. He could hardly believe she was real, not a dream. He drank in her huge brown eyes, her creamy skin, her slightly pointed nose. Moving his thumb slowly across her cheek, he touched her lips. The angel he'd seen was flesh in his hands and as real to his touch as she had been the night before. Only now he could see her, every perfect part of her.
Unable to restrain himself, even as he saw the puzzlement in her eyes, Hunter bent forward and lightly touched her lips with his own.
'Hunter?' she whispered. 'How…'
'Yes, angel.' His words caressed her ear as his arms encircled her and drew her up to her knees.
'Hunter, what-' She couldn't finish, for his lips were smothering her words. He was drowning in a new ocean of feeling. Each time they touched, the need between them had grown until now all his world was here with her this moment.
'Don't talk,' he whispered. 'Just let me hold you before the world finds us again and I must return to sanity.'
Tears ran down her cheeks, spilling against his throat and shoulder. His face moved against her hair as he felt its warm silkiness. Her heart pounded beneath her breasts, keeping rhythm with his own. There would be time for questions later; now all he needed, all he wanted, was in his arms.
She pulled her head back, looking full into his face. 'This is no dream,' she whispered in her Southern voice, which reminded him of all the gentleness of his mother. Raising her hand, she touched his cheek and jaw-line and he wanted to laugh with pure joy. The firelight danced in her warm eyes and set aflame his need.
Hunter bent and kissed Perry deeper than before, his mouth parting her lips. As the kiss lingered, he felt her body mold against him with its own longing.
The flame traveled down her face, burning her cheeks as it moved to her breasts. She ached with desire for him. She spread her hands into his hair and laughed with ecstasy. How many hundreds of times had she longed to touch him? Now he was beside her. 'It's not a dream,' she whispered again, finally glad he could know she was real.
Hunter's hands moved slowly up and down her back, sending through her a pleasure so great, she feared she might explode from it. With each stroke Hunter's hands went lower, until they covered her hips with fire. His muscular body molded into her softness and Perry felt the need of his manhood press against her stomach.
She sensed Hunter pulling her to him as his hands rested on her hips. She knew nothing of lovemaking, but she knew she wanted him. She wanted him in the very depth of her being. Her body pressed instinctively against him, drawn to the warmth of his body.
