Chapter 6

"GET SAM INTO BED AS EARLY AS YOU CAN AFTER we eat," Jud told Viola when he got back to camp.

She looked at him with a kind of dazed hurt, then glanced over at Sam, who was staring out across the clearing, now vaguely lighted by a nearly full moon.

"You can do it, baby," Jud said sarcastically.

"Jesus, are you cold!"

"She saw us," Jud said.

"What?"

"She saw us making it down there in the creek bed."

"Oh, no!" Viola looked in horror at Sam, then back at Jud. "Will she tell?"

He nodded. "I think so. When she figures the time's right. So as soon as we finish eating, I'll go back to check on her. And before I get a chance to come back, I want you to have him in bed and making noises that would embarrass mc."

"You want to listen again? like last night?" Viola could be cold too.

Jud laughed. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Nothing's changed between us?" It was just half a question.

"We're not going to get married and live happily ever after; you can be damn sure of that."

"Okay. I didn't really expect it. So what are we going to do-just wait till she decides to tell him, then let him blow both our heads off? He will, you know."

"I know," Jud said. "And I wouldn't much blame him."

He looked over at Sam, who was still staring across the clearing, the gun resting on his arm.

"I don't want him near that girl the rest of the night. That's where you come in. I'm going back there and work on her. Maybe I can get her to thinking I'm on her side. That way I can at least stall it."

"And maybe you can get into those leather britches of hers?" Another half-question.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Jud said with a laugh. "Here he comes."

Viola turned, and they watched Sam walk toward them.

"I still say I can make her talk," Sam said. "I don't like the idea of tangling with that old codger in the cabin."

"Just let me call the plays, Sam," Jud said. "When we get to the five yard line, you can carry the ball."

Sam laughed. "All right." With a gesture that was only in part threatening, he hefted the gun. "Let's eat," he said. "I'm starved."

They settled down to a meal of dried beef and bread. Viola assumed a cross-legged position that did quite a bit to call attention to her body-Jud wondered if she were copying it from the Indian girl's pose-and they ate in relative silence. Jud was careful to finish first. Then he took out a couple extra pieces of bread and a handful of the stringy salted beef. He got one of the canteens and stood up.

"You gonna feed the girl?" Sam asked, munching on a slice of bread.

"Sure I'm gonna feed her," Jud said. "And don't anybody disturb me for a while, either. Maybe I can get something out of her."

Sam laughed boisterously. Viola winced.

"She-likes me," Jud said. "You've got to know how to handle them, Sam."

Sam laughed again. "I guess it's pretty obvious what you've got on your mind. If Viola falls asleep, I'll take seconds."

"Maybe she won't," Jud said.

He shot a quick, demanding glance at Viola, and she nodded.

"I don't think I'll fall asleep too quick, baby."

As Jud started away, he saw Viola move closer to Sam. "Let's see if we can make use of the privacy," she said.

Jud walked back to the tree where he'd tied the girl. She looked up at him curiously, almost smiling. In the little bit of moonlight that filtered through the trees, he could see a fiery sparkle in her eyes, and her copper skin took on the color of hot coals. Her breasts were arched up conspicuously against the leather by the pin of her arms behind her.

"Hungry?" he asked casually.

She nodded. He held out a piece of the dried beef. She took it in her mouth, chewing it stoically, her eyes still on him. When she was finished with the beef, he held out a slice of bread for her to take a bite of. His eyes fell to her shadowy cleavage, visible in the open neck of the leather shirt. She noticed this, but let it pass. When she finished the bite of bread, she held her mouth open not un-like an animal would-or a child-giving him a sharp sensation of power. He fed her another bite. She chewed slowly, refusing to display her relish. And when she'd finished that bite she rejected his offer of more.

"Don't make me eat so fast," she said.

She'd started to say something else, but became silent as she heard Viola giggle huskily-a kind of giggle a woman made in only one situation.

"Or is it that you are anxious to get back to your woman?" she said with a sly grin.

"She's our woman," Jud said with a grin. "It was better to share one than bring along two."

"I think you are lying," she replied quickly. "I saw her wedding ring. And he, not you, is the husband."

"You have all the answers," Jud said.

"Could I have another bite of beef?"

He held out another piece of beef, and she leaned forward and quickly took it, and was careful to bend her body enough that he could see into the leather shirt, get a perfect view of her round, sculptured breasts.

"And you?" she asked. "You do not have a woman?"

"I'm not married, if that's what you mean." She smiled, "But you have his woman when you want her?"

Jud just laughed. There was no use answering. "But I do not think he knows this," she said, smiling again.

"Why don't you ask him?" Jud bluffed.

She shook her head. "Not now. Now the two of you would only deny it. He would be suspicious, but he would believe you. But there will be a time when you will not have time to deny it. Then I will tell him. May I have more bread now?"

He held out the bread. She leaned forward and took it, slumping her shoulders so that the material fell for a moment completely away from her nipples. Then she arched her shoulders back, pushing the breasts up prominently against the material.

"Will he kill you?" she asked, still chewing on the bite of bread.

"He might," said Jud.

"That would be a shame." She smiled.

"Yes, it would."

Jud popped the last piece of bread and bite of beef into his own mouth, and smiled as he savored it.

"And you?" he asked. "Do you have a man?"

"I was married," she said. "But he worked on the oil rigs to the South. He was killed in a fire."

"I'm sorry," Jud said. And the funny thing about it, he really was.

"It is of no importance," she said. "It has been a long time."

For a moment they were both silent. Jud looked down at her, openly admiring her savage beauty.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"To my husband, who was Mexican, I was Rosa. My Indian name means Rose of the Desert."

"Desert Rose," Jud said. "Desert roses; Do you know what they are?"

"No. Flowers?"

"Little crystal rocks," Jud said. "Reddish copper, with petals like the flower."

They fell silent. He looked at her breasts again, the leather held over them by the three thongs. Vaguely, they could hear the sounds of Viola and Sam, now making love in zestful abandon.

"It must make you feel.. . alone," she said.

"What?"

"When you are with another man and his wife. Even with what you did this afternoon, you are not free to do that any time you please. You must sneak."

He didn't answer, but just looked at her, thinking of what he could do to her if he wanted to; picturing vividly how she would resist, hating, biting, tossing and cursing him until passion overcame her.

"You could take me," she said quietly. It gave him the feeling she had read his mind. "You could take me and I could not stop you."

"I could," he said, still looking at the coppery skin of her bosom.

She smiled, pulling her shoulders back once more to arch the round breasts up, the nipples making distinct points in the leather. "Just loosen the thongs," she said. "It is easily done, and I can not stop you."

Jud looked back up at her glowing face. He wondered what she really felt for him. He had no doubt that she'd stick a knife in his back without hesitation if it would help her escape, but aside from that, he wondered if she really hated him. He felt that she didn't, but logic told him she probably did.

"And I do not mind, really," she said. "I am not a virgin. It is no loss to me."

Jud's hand moved quickly to the top thong. He pulled the loose end of it and the knot came undone. The leather shirt opened, revealing more of her breasts. He quickly undid the other two, and the shirt opened all the way down the front, the leather seeming to cling on the swollen nipples, which were a deep maroon-purple. He fitted his hand inside, cupping one of her breasts, feeling the hardness of the nipple in his palm. He got onto his knees and leaned toward her. Their eyes met and held for a moment. Then he leaned on down and put his lips to the soft skin of her neck, kissing her there first, then moving down to her shoulder and finally to her breast. He took the nipple in his mouth, sucking gently and playing with his tongue.

She made no sound, but twisted her body, moving the breast in his mouth, brushing the other nipple against his cheek. He slid his hand beneath the arm that was still bound against her side, inside the leather and around to her back. His fingers reached the line of her spine, then moved down. A shiver went through her entire body. She moaned slightly, and he sucked more furiously at her breast. She pushed herself closer, twisting her torso against his face, her breathing becoming hoarse.

Suddenly she pulled away from him. Her breast left his mouth, and his hand had not been firm enough against her back to hold. She fell clumsily against the trunk of the tree, then straightened up before he had a chance to help her. For a moment she was completely without composure; she was disturbed, confused and frustrated. The inscrutable sly smile was gone, and the futility of her situation was bared for him. Then she regained her bearings', the smile returned; her breathing slowed to a more regular pace.

"I cannot.. . do it well.. . like this," she said haltingly. "I cannot return . . . show for you . . . the passion I feel."

He looked down at her breasts. They were perfect-as full and firm below the nipples as above. But it was the color that made them unique in his experience; the deep copper, accented by the purple-jeweled nipples.

"I cannot do it with my hands tied behind me," she said, spelling out her meaning.

But it spelled out more than that for him. It spelled out the motivation for the whole deal. She'd invited him to loosen the thongs, to bare for himself the most perfect breasts he'd ever seen. She'd invited him to touch and feel them, knowing this would seal his decision to make love to her. For effect, she'd reciprocated the passion. And after they'd reached a certain plane of desire she would entice him to untie her. Then she would play along for a while longer, and when the chance came, make her escape.

Whether she really would have gone through with the lovemaking was doubtful-if she'd remained in control of herself. But she hadn't remained in control. She'd enjoyed his hands on her breasts, his lips tearing at them. She'd probably enjoyed it more because she was tied powerless to resist.

Then she'd caught herself, realizing what she was doing, and had pulled away. It had taken her a moment to regenerate her hatred for him, or at least re-convince herself of it.

He just looked at her for a moment. Then he reached forward with both hands, grasped the leather shirt just above the thong loops on each side. He pulled the leather apart, revealing more of her copper flesh, pulled it on over her shoulders and down her upper arms, exposing completely the upper half of her defenseless body. He looked at the skin of her breasts, of her neck and shoulders, her stomach. It was the most beautiful skin he'd ever seen: flawless, alive, inviting.

"I cannot do it with my hands tied," she said again, doing everything she could to instill in her voice the sound of genuine passion, but failing.

"All right," Jud said.

He reached into his pocket and took out the small knife he carried. He opened it slowly, then leaned so close that her breasts touched his chest as he reached behind to cut the rope. And he intentionally placed himself in a position that was completely vulnerable. And because he was so open to her attack, he made sure he was ready for it.

The moment he freed her hands, her knee lashed toward his groin. He blocked that with the forearm of his other hand, and at the same moment tossed the knife far enough away that she couldn't reach it. She moved swiftly toward her feet, and just as he'd planned the knee jab and planned to follow through with this, he was sure she'd also planned exactly which way she would run when she did get up.

But she never made it. Tossing the knife away left him completely off balance, and as he'd planned, falling forward toward her with all his weight. It was a simple matter of wrapping his arms around her and hanging on to keep her from going anywhere.

Completely subduing her was a different matter. It had been a kind of body tackle; his momentum carried her onto her back and left him more or less on top of her. She bit him on the ear and did knee him once, but her knee landed too high to do real damage. Her arms were still held behind her back by the shirt, and she thrashed madly as she tried to free herself from it. Jud turned loose the hold he'd had around her waist, and tried to slide up her body for a better one. She kneed him again, in the thigh this time, and her breasts bounced in his face. She tossed her whole body upward and almost threw him off, and then she freed her arms. Just as she did, he caught them and pinned them to the ground, extended to either side of her, then lifted himself into a sitting position, straddling her stomach, her breasts between his thighs.

She struggled for a instant longer. Then, seeing she had no chance, she stopped fighting. She lay perfectly still, her eyes spewing fire and venom at him, her breasts heaving. He held her fast and looked down at her. Then he shifted his position slightly, so that his bent knees rested on her biceps, holding her arms pinned and freeing his hands.

"Let me put my shirt back on," she said with quiet wrath.

He shook his head. He reached over and removed the rope from about the tree. He tied one end to her right wrist, then tossed the loose end about the tree. Then he leaned forward and caught the loose end and brought it back around. She still didn't move, but her eyes showed her disgust with him.

He took a firm hold on the rope, then lifted his weight off her body and pulled quickly with all his strength. She screamed with surprise as her body was dragged the three feet across the ground to the tree trunk, until her head was right against it and her right arm extended back around it. Jud had moved with her, and now he seized her free hand and pulled the rope in a loop around it. He slid off, moving to where he could better secure her.

Now she did struggle. She tossed violently and pulled at the rope, fantastically contorted her body so that she almost managed to kick him in the face, but all to no avail. He finished the knot, then got to his feet and stepped back to survey her position.

She ceased her struggles, panting, her breasts now stretched taut, heaving with her hard breathing. She lay flat on her back, her arms extended over her head and around the tree, where they were securely tied. Her feet were still free.

"So now you're a big man," she said finally. "Now you think you have me."

"I think so," he said with a laugh, looking at the tightly drawn breasts, the nipples hard still, the skin in goose bumps from the cold night air.

"What are you going to do?"

"Just what we were planning to do."

"I will hate it," she said with conviction, still glaring up at him.

"I think I'll bring my sleeping bag. As a matter-of-fact, we might just do it all night long."

For a moment longer she glared silently. Then she screamed, "Bastard! Bastard, I'll kill you someday!"

She kicked out at him, but he was out of range. She tugged frantically on the rope, but there was no getting away. She screamed insults at him, first in English, then in Spanish, and finally shifting to what must have been an Indian language. And she tossed frantically as she tried to free herself.

Jud just watched her, grinning, thinking it served her right for taking him for such a fool, and still justifying what he did with the memory of the moment she had lost herself in a passion that was not fabricated. Then a rustling behind him startled him. He swung about quickly.

It was Sam, wearing just a pair of trousers. He had the gun.

"What in the . . . ? " He broke off as he saw the girl, half naked, tied in the new position, the purpose of it obvious.

Desert Rose also ceased her tirade.

"Oh," said Sam, laughing. "Excuse me, partner!" He paused again, looking back at the full, taut breasts. "I didn't think you had it in you, Jud. I sure as hell didn't."

"He has it in him!" she snarled. "Ask him what he did with your wife when they went for water."

Perfect, Jud thought. Sam turned to him, a flicker of anger and realization in his eyes. Jud met Sam's gaze without expression.

"I saw them!" she said. "On the creek!"

"You know how it is, Sam," Jud said laughingly. "A man gets to needing it. I didn't know this was coming along, or I would've waited."

He stopped, seeing that Sam had reached the boiling point. He burst into laughter, slapping Sam boisterously on the shoulder.

"You know me better than that."

For a moment Sam was just dumfounded. Then he too began to laugh.

"He did it!" she insisted.

But it was hopeless. Sam and Jud were laughing together now. It had worked perfectly, Jud thought as he slapped his old buddy on the back again. And she had played her last ace.

"Now, let me have a little privacy, huh, Sam?" Jud said. "I mean, if Viola wasn't here, you could have seconds, but.. . "

Sam laughed, "Yeah. I understand."

"Come on. I've got to get my sleeping bag anyway," Jud said, leading Sam back toward the tent. "You don't mind if I just spend the night out here with her, huh?"

As they walked away, Desert Rose began cursing again.