Chapter Twenty-Three

Darkness was quickly approaching before Silas and Charlotte were able to slip up to their room. Charlotte's stomach was a mess of nerves as she laid a sleeping Grace into the chest drawer they'd lined with blankets.

Charlotte felt her heart swell and her body heat as Silas's strong dark arms wrapped around her waist from behind and his chin rested on her shoulder. His warm breath breezed against her neck, tickling her ear.

"She looks so peaceful. So unaware that there is any evil in the world and perfectly content in the knowledge that her mama and her pa will be here when she opens her eyes."

"And we will be." Charlotte vowed, trembling when Silas's full lips brushed tenderly against her ear and she felt him smile as his arms tightened around her.

"I love you, Miss Charlotte."

She thought about telling him that he didn't have to call her 'Miss Charlotte' any longer but she liked the way it sounded when he said it. Some men called their wives honey or love but 'Miss Charlotte' was Silas's love name for her and it made her heart swell each time she heard it.

"And I love you." Silas pulled her back several steps and stood with her in front of the window, her back pulled firmly against his chest and his chin still resting on her shoulder.

"The sunset is beautiful." Charlotte whispered, as she gazed out at the pink sky. Silas nodded and then Charlotte felt as if she'd been struck by lightning when Silas's full, warm lips were pressing against her throat, sliding across her skin before moving to her ear. She clung to his arms and leaned into his embrace when his mouth moved to her ear and she felt his teeth gently grazing against her skin, as his tongue tasted her.

"Silas...." Charlotte gasped and his warm, comforting voice vibrated against her skin.

"I want to feel your skin against mine, Miss Charlotte."

Charlotte wanted that too, she wanted it so badly, but what if she was still sore from the birth of her daughter? She knew that love making could cause her pain and yet she did not want to turn him down. What if turning him down angered him....?

"Silas..." she began uncertainly and he loosened his hold, turning her in his arms and smoothing the loose tendrils of hair from her face.

"I know, Miss Charlotte. My pa was a doctor, remember?"

Charlotte flushed red with embarrassment and looked at his chest, picking at the buttons of his shirt. "I don't want to disappoint you..."

"Impossible. You could never disappoint me."

"But you said you wanted..."

"To feel your skin on mine." Silas finished, putting his finger beneath her chin and tilting her head up so that her eyes were once again looking into his. The love shining out of those deep, soft brown eyes stole her breath and made it impossible for her to speak. "All I want is to lay in that bed with your skin on mine and hold you in my arms."

"Are you sure, Silas?" Charlotte questioned. Turning Jackson down for love making would have had the man turning violent and taking what he wanted... but Silas was nothing like Jackson and Charlotte knew that.

"I'm sure, Miss Charlotte. When you're ready to take it further, you let me know. Until then just let me hold you. That's all I need."

Charlotte smiled up at him and then her shaking fingers began to undo the buttons of his shirt. Silas pulled it out of his pants and Charlotte finished undoing the buttons before sliding the shirt off his broad shoulders.

She took in the sight of his body and swallowed hard as desire filled her. Silas's skin was dark as midnight and his body was hard and covered in a lean layer of muscle, created by hard work. Jackson's body, which was the only other body he'd ever seen, had looking nothing like this. It had been pale and soft and covered in thick dark hair.

"You're so hard." Charlotte whispered as she laid her palms on the hard planes of his chest and spread her fingers wide. She felt a tremble wash over Silas and when she looked into his eyes they looked darker and full of passionate desire.

Charlotte felt sensations she had never felt before. An ache was forming between her legs that had nothing to do with the birth of her daughter. There was a pulsing, throbbing need forming in her core and moisture was soaking into the underclothes she wore beneath her skirt.

Silas's hands were shaking as he untucked her blouse and slowly undid the buttons before sliding it off as well. Charlotte stood there in her thin satin shift, knowing that her breasts would be clearly outlined beneath the fabric. She saw Silas's eyes roam down her and she heard the moan in the back of his throat when his eyes landed on her chest.

Without warning, he pulled her body tight against his own and his lips found hers, devouring her hungrily.

Charlotte felt as if she were drowning. Sinking lower and lower in a raging whirlpool with no desire to try to swim to shore. Silas's big hands roamed over her body, his calloused fingers caressing her breasts through the fabric of her shift.

And then suddenly her shift was gone and his hands were on her skin, burning her, searing her, branding her as his own with a tenderness that stole her breath.

Never had Charlotte been touched this way. With this sweet softness that let her know that he truly cared about what she was feeling instead of simply rushing after his own release. Charlotte felt him leading her toward the bed and she went with him, lost in all the new sensations he was awakening within her and getting lost in the waves... Drowning was incredible.

So lost was she in Silas's kisses and touches that she was surprised when he laid down beside her in the bed and stretched his body long against her own and she realized that neither of them were wearing any clothes.

Charlotte blushed as she looked at him, marveling in every line, muscle, scar and mole. Learning the dips and bulges in arms and the tight muscles of his stomach. Her eyes widened when she saw the proof of his arousal resting heavy against the pale white skin of her stomach.

"Sorry Miss Charlotte." He whispered gruffly as he tried hard to twist his hips away from her. Charlotte bit her lip before gathering her courage and looking up at his face. Silas's face was drawn as if the man was in pain but his brown eyes were just as warm and loving as they always were when they gazed upon her.

Charlotte was certain that is what gave her the bravery to do what she did next as she reached her hand down and gripped his pulsing arousal in her hand. Silas's jaw dropped and his eyes slid closed.

His eyes quickly shot back open when Charlotte guided the tip of him toward the wet juncture between her thighs.

"Miss Charlotte, are you sure?" Silas ground out, even as he flipped her onto her back and braced his body over hers. Charlotte laid her palms on his chest and nodded, never taking her eyes from his.

"I'm sure."

"If I hurt you, Miss Charlotte, you be sure to tell me to stop. I don't ever want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me, Silas. I love you and I want you to let me know how good it feels to be with a man who loves me back."

"I can certainly be the man to show you that." His lips caressed her eyelids as he slowly slid himself inside of her, filling her more completely than she had ever been filled before.

And as he began to move, suddenly Charlotte was once again drowning. Drowning in the sensations and the emotions that he was stirring inside of her. Drowning in the pleasure that was coursing through her veins as she gripped his shoulders tight and thrust her hips in time with his.

Charlotte felt something tensing inside of her. A delicious twisting knot of heat coiling and bunching low in her belly and then, quite suddenly, her body exploded. White light blinded her eyes as her body stiffened and shuddered and she cried out Silas's name only to have his lips close over her own and catch the sound.

Then suddenly he was tensing as well and his moans filled the room, as he buried himself as deeply inside of her as he could go and shuddered.

Charlotte slowly felt herself coming back to shore....Coming off of the whirl pool that Silas's touch had sent her on. Her heart was thundering and her legs tingling as Silas moved off of her and stretched out on his side next to her, running his finger up and down her stomach and staring deep into her eyes.

"I love you, Miss Charlotte. Thank you for all you've given me today."

"Given you?" Charlotte asked, her mind having trouble focusing on anything other than how satisfied her body felt.

"A daughter, a wife and what we just shared her in this bedroom. I hope you know that I will never take any of those three things for granted."

Charlotte smiled and kissed him tenderly. "I know you won't."

Grace whimpered from her makeshift bed and Charlotte was about to rise when Silas shook his head and held her down. "I'll get her." He insisted.

Silas stood and slid into his pants but Charlotte's eyes were locked on the crisscrossing scars covering the man's broad back. He walked to Grace and patted her back gently, covering her with the blanket and humming to quiet her whimpering.

Charlotte knew there were tears in her eyes when Silas came back to bed and she also knew that he would see them in the low lamplight.

"Miss Charlotte, what are those tears for? Did I hurt you?" Concern laced his voice and his hand went to her low belly and dancing over her skin.

"No." she replied quickly, squirming below his touch, which somehow made her blood begin to heat once again despite the release she had just found merely minutes before.

"Then why are you crying?"

"Your back."

Silas smiled and brought her fingertips to his lips, kissing them tenderly. "Don't you worry none about that."

"But how..."

"I was a slave, Miss Charlotte."

"You were whipped?!" Charlotte was outraged to think of someone whipping her husband. Why would anyone want to hurt a man so pure, loving and caring? "Weren't you only a child?"

"Yes but that didn't seem to matter to our master. But don't worry none about it. That was the past and all I care about is right now."

"How on earth did I get lucky enough to find you?" Charlotte asked quietly, tracing his jaw with her fingertips.

Silas smiled and pulled the blanket over their bodies before kissing her temple. "Actually, Miss Charlotte, I believe I'm the one that found you."

***

Colt had to think of some way to change the direction his one track mind seemed to have taken before he went completely insane. Since watching Silas and Charlotte share their vows this morning all he had been able to think of was Sarah and Loralie.

Looking at Silas, Charlotte and baby Grace and the picture of a happy family they painted, caused a pain so damn deep in Colt's chest that he was sure it would be the death of him.

He had never been the type of be jealous of what others had but he'd be damned if he wasn't envious of Silas and Charlotte. He just couldn't see the fairness in it all. Why were some people finding their happiness in all this new terror on earth when it was this terror that had ripped every damn bit of his happiness away?

"You sure do brood more than any other man I have ever met before." Katherine's voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to see her standing at the open door. "It's time to lock down for the night... You coming in?"

Colt nodded, though he made no move to rise from the rocking chair that his backside had been calling home for the last hour or so. Everything was so peaceful and quiet this evening that he was almost able to pretend the world hadn't gone to hell and been filled with flesh eating monsters......Almost.

Colt was hoping Katherine would take the hint and simply walk away but instead she walked toward him and sat down on the porch banister in front of him, blocking his view of the woods. Colt sighed and looked up at her face. She was a pretty woman but she did nothing for him. His heart and his body just weren't ready... probably never would be.

"What's wrong with you, Colt? You never have been a ray of sunshine but you seem a bit sadder than normal today."

"The world ended, Katherine, am I supposed to be out dancing in the rain and spoutin' sonnets?"

Katherine smiled as she gave a small shake of her head. "You don't strike me as the sonnet spouting type."

"Naw, I reckon I never was. Even before the world ended."

Katherine studied him a moment, her wide green eyes boring into his as if trying to see his soul. Colt shifted uncomfortably in his chair and looked down at his worn and stained denims. "We're all still alive and this rock is still spinning. The world didn't end, Colt."

Colt nodded and swallowed hard as he studied an oddly shaped rust colored bloodstain on his thigh and wondered where it had come from. "Mine did." He ground out between his tightly clenched jaws.

"Are you married, Colt?"

"Why would you ask that?" Colt asked, looking up and meeting her gaze again.

"Because you've turned me down time and time again. Of course I guess that doesn't have to mean you're married. Plenty of married men have bedded me."

"And they deserve to have their heads stomped. A vow's a vow and should be treated as such."

"So you are married?" Katherine pressed and Colt sighed as he shoved himself to his feet and walked over to the banister to stand beside her. He placed his hands on the rough wood and leaned over the rail, enjoying the feel of the evening breeze on his face.

"I wish you'd just let this go."

"I can't."

"Why the hell not?" Colt demanded as he took off his hat and shoved his hand roughly through his dark blond hair.

"Because like it or not, I care about you. You mean a lot to me, Colt. More than any other man ever has."

"Katherine...." Colt started warningly and Katherine sighed as she looked down at her fingernails.

"I know. You're not interested." She sighed and then jumped off the banister and turned, pressing her shoulder to his and leaning her forearms against the banister, matching his posture. "But I want you to know that I'm here for you, Colt. And I think opening up with somebody might help you...."

"Nope."

"I want to help you, Colt."

"Katherine, I don't want to be rude to you, ma'am, but I've done told you to leave this alone and I've done told you that I ain't interested in having you..."

"Fair enough." Katherine sighed as she stood straight and patted his back, causing Colt to stiffen and growl beneath her touch. She quickly pulled her hand away and smoothed out her blue skirt.

"You need to be coming on in soon, Colt. You know the rabid get more active at night and we need to have this place sealed up tight."

Colt just nodded and felt relief fill him when the woman finally walked away.

He sighed, knowing she was right about the lockdown. He could see a rabid slowly wandering around the edge of the woods. A man, his chest full of bullet holes and one side of his face caved in... Someone had obviously tried to kill the monster before learning the 'aim for the head' rule.

Colt made his way into the house, closing the door and sliding the three wooden slats into place. He knew that Silas, Charlotte and baby Grace were upstairs, safely tucked into their bedroom, warmly cocooned in their loving family. Jealousy bubbled once again in Colt's gut and he hated the feeling. He didn't want to feel it and yet was helpless to stop himself.

Comanche was in the sitting room, staring into the dancing flames of the fire and Colt made his way to the second armchair and sat down as well. Colt knew Comanche was in roughly the same dark mood that he was after having lost Frankie that morning and it seemed nice to simply sit in silence with a kindred spirit.

"It will be a long night." Comanche finally spoke and Colt nodded in agreement.

"I might be able to help with that." Katherine spoke up as she stepped into the sitting room. Colt was about to lose his patience completely with the woman until he saw the two large bottles of whiskey she held clutched in her hands.

"I think our night just got a hell of a lot better." Colt said with a nod. It had been years, a good three, since he had had a taste of whiskey but whiskey had always helped him be loose; free. And tonight he wanted to be those things. He wanted to forget, if only for a couple of hours, that he was a complete failure that had lost everything.

"I have never had the paleman's firewater." Comanche admitted with a raise of his brow and Colt chuckled.

"Get ready to taste heaven then, Comanche, cuz those bottles that woman's holdin' are full of Ambrosia."