Seven Brides: Daisy Part 21

"Well you can't go around with a hole burned in your hair."

With that prosaic comment he continued to cut off huge amounts of her hair. Each hank of hair that hit the floor seemed to carry a part of her with it. By the time Tyler had finished, she felt like a shorn sheep.

"I'll wash it, then trim any ends I've missed," he said.

She waited listlessly as he brought a shallow pan to the table and poured some water into it. He tested it. Apparently satisfied, he fetched soap and a towel from the shelves in the corner.

"Let me do the work," he told Daisy as he positioned her head over the pan. "You just keep your head still and your eyes closed."

As Daisy waited, she tried to imagine what she would look like with short hair. Horrified by every picture that came to mind, she tried to think of ways to dress it; she fabricated excuses for its length. But it was pointless. Not even saloon girls wore their hair short.

It was a strange sensation to feel the warm water poured over her head, but it was even more disconcerting to feel Tyler's strong fingers gently working the soap into her scalp. It had been years since her mother had washed her hair. She had forgotten how pleasant it could be.

But this was more than pleasant. There was an intimacy in allowing Tyler to wash her hair, an unspoken admission that they shared something special. As his calloused hands gathered and twisted her hair, she felt ripples run from her head to her toes. She hadn't realized how tense she was until Tyler began to ma.s.sage her neck at the base of her skull. She could feel the gentle pressure of his thumb and forefinger gradually loosen the tension in her scalp. It felt wonderful. She realized he wasn't just was.h.i.+ng my hair. He was as aware of the tension between them as she was.

She suddenly realized he had been was.h.i.+ng her hair too long. She was enjoying this too much, but she didn't want him to stop.

Tyler rinsed her hair by pouring water over her head. That broke the spell. He threw away the first pan of water and rinsed her hair again.

"What do I look like?" she wanted to know.

"I won't be able to tell until it's dry." He combed her hair, being careful to avoid the scar. Then he trimmed a few uneven ends. He dried it by rubbing it in a towel between his hands. Daisy felt the damp tendrils against her cheeks as Tyler combed it once more. He stood back a little when he finished.

"I like it like this," he said. "It frames your face." He took a strand between his fingers. "You've got some curl, too."

He was just trying to make her feel better. No man could find a woman with short, curly hair attractive.

"You can take your bath now," he said Daisy waited patiently as Tyler emptied all the buckets of water into the tub.

"I'm going to get more," he announced. "I want a bath, too."

Daisy felt something tighten in her chest. She was relieved to have Tyler leave the cabin. She was even more relieved to be able to retreat behind the curtain.

She was acutely aware she would be alone with Tyler tonight.

As she unb.u.t.toned her dress, she was very sensitive to the feel and pressure of her fingers against her skin. She imagined they were Tyler's fingers, and her body became warm and quivered from involuntary muscle spasms that raced from one end of her to the other.

She wanted Tyler to make love to her.

That thought was even more shocking than knowing she was in love with him. What could she be thinking? All her life her parents had drummed it into her head that her only possession of any real value was her virginity. Here she was wanting to give it away to a bearded mountain man she had no chance of marrying. If she didn't know better, she'd swear the bullet had affected her brain.

Daisy had stepped into the tub and settled down into the water before Tyler returned. She felt completely vulnerable, as through the curtain were transparent. She found herself sitting with her arms across her chest, her hands hugging her shoulders. She felt foolish, but couldn't drive the feeling away. Every time she touched herself, she imagined it was Tyler doing it.

Her skin was ultra sensitive. Even the lapping water sent s.h.i.+vers through her body. Her nipples hardened until they were achingly sensitive. A feeling of nervous excitement had settled in her belly. She began to experience a feeling in her feminine parts she had never felt before. In a matter of minutes Daisy felt about ready to jump out of her skin.

Resolutely pus.h.i.+ng aside every thought of Tyler, Daisy stood up to dry her body. She was intentionally very rough, pommeling her flesh, rubbing her skin until it glowed pink from the abrasion, anything to destroy the feelings that were threatening to destroy her control.

She dressed quickly and stepped back into the room. Tyler sat reading a book. He put it aside.

"I want you to cut my hair," he said.

His request floored her. "I don't know how."

"It's not difficult. Just keep cutting until it's about the same length as Zac's."

Tyler's brown, wavy hair fell to his shoulders. She would have to cut nearly as much off his head as he had hers. She felt a s.h.i.+ver of satisfaction, but thrust it aside, ashamed of it. Tyler had cut her hair because it was necessary.

"How long has it been since anybody cut your hair?" she asked.

"Years."

"Why do you want me to cut it now?"

"It's time."

Typical answer from Tyler. She figured it was just as well he didn't know she'd fallen in love with him. That would probably dry up his conversation entirely.

Tyler seated himself in the same chair she had occupied and handed her the scissors. Daisy was reluctant to take them, but Tyler continued to hold them out to her.

"Okay, but you'll have n.o.body to blame but yourself if it turns out a mess."

She wasn't totally without experience. She had cut her father's hair, but his hair was nothing like Tyler's luxuriant growth. She hesitated to start.

"Hurry up. The water will soon be hot."

Grasping a handful of hair, Daisy held it straight out from Tyler's head and cut it off. It fell to the floor, a silent accuser, but not nearly as powerful as the gap in Tyler's hair. Daisy set to work tr.i.m.m.i.n.g all around until the hair was off his collar. Then with painstaking care, she proceeded to cut it short all over his head.

Daisy found it exciting to see Tyler's ears appear from under the ma.s.s of hair. Strange, but she'd thought of him as an older man. But she found that once some of the hair was removed, he looked much more youthful, his body slim rather than chunky, his skin smooth and hairless.

She was amazed to discover he had a long, slim neck, surprisingly elegant for a man of his size. His shoulders were just as powerful as she had imagined. And he was so big.

"You'll have to bend over for me to get the top," she said.

Tyler inclined his head. She wondered at his trust. He didn't know she wouldn't make a comical mess of his hair. Maybe he didn't care. She wished she had his lack of concern, but it wasn't the same for women. Too much depended on their looks.

For the one hundredth time, she wondered what he would look like without that beard. Some women liked bearded men, but she never would, not even if he trimmed it quite short. It was brown. A beard had to be black to look decent.

Oddly enough, she found the shape of his head appealing. In fact, the more of him she uncovered, the more appealing he became. She found herself almost s.h.i.+vering from the intense desire that kept shooting through her body, causing her muscles to quiver uncontrollably, causing her legs to feel as though they might fall out from under her.

"I'd better stop before I cut off too much," she said stepping back. She took a deep breath and forced a smile. She had no intention of letting Tyler guess any of what she'd been thinking.

Tyler ran his hand over his head. "It feels about right," he said. "You sure you don't mind my using your corner?"

"Of course not," she said, trying to sound as normal as possible. "It's your cabin."

Daisy stood by, tense and stiff, while Tyler dragged the tub to the door and emptied her bath water. Then he filled it with fresh water, gathered some clothes and fresh towels, and disappeared behind the barrier.

Daisy collapsed into a chair, but her trial wasn't over. Her imagination reached new heights in picturing what must be taking place behind the screen. Tyler was so tall his head and shoulders were visible over the top of the blankets. His shoulders were as smooth and free of hair as she had imagined. They were also as powerfully muscled.

She s.h.i.+vered when she heard the soft plop of his clothes on the floor, the slos.h.i.+ng of the water as he stepped into the bath and sank down in it. She couldn't imagine how he did it. It was a tight fit for her. It would be impossible for him to fit his long limbs into the tub.

She tried to imagine how he would situate himself. She imagined his legs out of the tub, long powerful legs that had enabled him to run so swiftly to her rescue. Most of his torso must also be above water level. She remembered the powerful arms and shoulders that had lifted and carried her so easily. She had been able to feel the shape and strength of his muscles even through the heavy s.h.i.+rt and coat he wore.

If she could only touch him now, feel the muscles, feel the power under her fingers.

Her hand opened and closed. She couldn't imagine why she was so preoccupied with Tyler's body. No man had ever affected her like this, not even Guy Cochrane. And he was more handsome than Tyler.

She heard the slos.h.i.+ng of water, and Tyler stood and began to dry himself. He had washed his hair. As he dried it vigorously, it curled into ringlets like the Greeks in her father's books. It gave him an entirely different appearance. It made him look young and virile. She thought of his beautiful brown eyes and broad, clear forehead. There must be something wrong with his face for him to hide it behind a beard. It was a shame.

She told herself she was no prize. Now she had no hair, she'd be lucky if she didn't become a laughing stock. She was thinking about her dismal future when Tyler pulled back the curtain and stepped out, naked to the waist.

Daisy stopped breathing.

Even with the beard, he was the most overwhelming man she'd ever met. The sight of him from the waist up rendered her speechless as well as breathless. Rising from a slim waist and a flat abdomen was the most fantastic chest and pair of shoulders Daisy had ever seen. They were even better than she had imagined. He wore black pants that fitted his body like a glove. After the baggy clothes he had worn before, they were a revelation. Long slim legs, powerful thighs, and a beautifully rounded behind. Daisy felt weak from an effect that wasn't in the least diminished by the sight of his bare feet.

Not in her wildest dreams had she imagined such a perfect body was concealed in the shapeless clothes Tyler wore.

"Do you mind if I shave?" Tyler asked.

"N-no," Daisy managed to murmur.

Tyler extracted a mirror from inside a small cabinet.

"You said you didn't have a mirror," Daisy said.

"I didn't want you to see yourself until you were better."

"Can I see now?"

"After I finish. It'll give your hair time to dry."

Daisy tried to be angry at him, but it was impossible when she couldn't take her eyes off his naked torso. Except for a dusting of small hairs at the center of his chest, he was perfectly smooth. His broad shoulders seemed almost too large for the slim waist. She watched, fascinated, as he gathered his shaving implements. The powerful muscles of his chest bunched and quivered. The muscles in his arms and forearms rippled smoothly under his skin.

He sat down at the table next to her. She practically had to sit on her hands to stifle the impulse to reach out and touch him. She could. He was that close.

Her breaths came slowly and with great effort. Gathering all her willpower, Daisy concentrated on his shaving.

She had watched her father shave so many times she had stopped noticing, but she watched fascinated as Tyler worked lather into the still wet beard. Before long he looked like he'd fallen face first into a bowl of whipped cream. Daisy's resulting smile helped a little to relax some of the tension which seemed about to break her bones.

It struck her all at once. Tyler wouldn't have lathered his beard if he only intended to trim it. He was going to shave it off!

She watched his first pa.s.s with the razor in stunned surprise. It cleared only a small spot high on his cheek, but an amazing amount of beard fell to the table. Gradually, clearing a small spot at a time, one side of Tyler's face emerged. Much to Daisy's shock, she realized it looked a lot like Zac's face.

Could Tyler be as handsome as Zac? She wanted to see his mouth. She had to know what his mouth and chin looked like.

But Tyler turned his head and started to shave the other side of his face. His mouth and chin remained buried under an obscuring growth of brown hair soaked with shaving lather. What an incongruous sight.

Daisy waited with growing impatience. It seemed Tyler took longer to shave the other side of his face. When he at last raised the razor to his upper lip, she almost held her breath.

In a matter of a few moments, the most kissable mouth she'd ever seen emerged. A few minutes more, and an adorable chin followed. He was gorgeous. He wasn't as handsome as Zac, but he was gorgeous. Common sense told her it was the contrast from the beard, that once she got used to his face, she wouldn't think it all that special, but common sense wasn't very popular with her right now. She'd spent her life at the beck and call of the wretched creature. And once she reached Albuquerque, she'd have to go back to being sensible. For now she felt a reckless desire to forget common sense, to let her senses run wild.

"Are you satisfied?" Tyler asked.

Daisy felt like she was being jerked out of the sensual world of Tyler's body into a senseless world of her cropped hair. "You shaved it off for me?"

"You said I was hiding something." He ran his hand over his smooth face. "I'm not hiding now."

"You shouldn't. You are a good-looking man."

"How can you say that after seeing Zac?"

"You're handsome, too. In fact, I think I like your looks better."

"Why?"

"Your face has character."

Tyler's smile was wry. "When a man says a woman's face has character, he means she's ugly as sin."

"When a woman says it, she means she admires the man behind the face."

She could tell he wanted to believe her. She could also tell he didn't.

"Sit," he said. "I need to brush your hair before you see yourself." He had no brush, so he used a comb. When he finished, he handed her the mirror.

She was afraid. She had been able to live with her fears up to now because they were unconfirmed. But if she looked in the mirror, she would no longer be able to tell herself Zac had exaggerated. Daisy took the mirror, closed her eyes, and held it up to her scar.

"You can hardly see it," Tyler said. "Your hair practically covers it already."

Daisy opened her eyes and felt some of the tension ease. The scar truly was almost hidden by her hair. Once it was completely healed, it would probably be invisible. She would know it was there, but n.o.body else would. Her hair was a darker brown than Tyler's. His was closer to chestnut, hers more light mahogany, a nice contrast with her fair skin.

Gradually she lowered the mirror. The freckles had not disappeared, but they didn't seem so numerous or so dark. Her father had always said his sister's freckles disappeared. Daisy hoped hers were about to follow suit.

But she could indulge no hope for her hair.

She held the mirror out from her until she could get a full picture of her head and shoulders. It took a few seconds for the full enormity of the disaster to sink in. Her hair barely touched her shoulders. It billowed about her head in a riot of curls like a bunch of tumbleweed.

She was ruined! She might as well go to work in a dance hall. It didn't seem important that she looked younger and more innocent or that her face seemed less angular. She ignored the fact that her eyes looked less prominent or her neck ivory smooth. She only saw her hopes for a decent marriage crushed in the floor with her hair.

The mirror slipped from her loosened grasp and shattered on the floor. The only thing that penetrated the nightmare was the realization Tyler had taken her in his arms and was holding her close.

"n.o.body will want to marry me now," she said.

"Lots of people will want to marry you."

"I saw what I looked like."

"If I were wanting to get married, I'd want you."